Realization
by sheechiibii
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto are a couple and have been for over a year. Everything seems wonderful. But behind the smiles and happy atmosphere, there is one small problem and that is the revival of the Uchiha clan; Sasuke’s second goal. Sasunaru, M-preg
1. Morning

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

An orange glow emanated through the glass of the French doors; cascading over the furniture and bathing the room in luscious warmth. The Uchiha mansion was aglow with the sun's early light. This was a clear sign that it was morning. Sasuke Uchiha didn't like mornings. Oh no, he didn't. It brought the daytime. And Sasuke also didn't like the daytime. Oh no, he didn't. The daytime was when he had to leave his safe, warm, cozy home – not to mention his lover too – and set out to his work as Anbu captain. It wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't sent out to long missions a lot of the time. Or the fact that by the time he got home not only was he completely knackered…but so was his blond; rendering them both less than likely to engage in much strenuous activities. So, Sasuke Uchiha didn't like mornings. In a way it was a good thing that he was never the first to wake.

A small sniffle was emitted from below a silky white duvet. Long, blonde eyelashes fluttered apart revealing large cerulean orbs still glazed with sleep. The blond sighed peacefully. Naruto Uzumaki loved mornings. Oh yes, he did. It brought a new day. And Naruto loved every minute of every day. Oh yes, he did. Not only did mornings bring the next day, they also brought the sleeping face of Sasuke Uchiha. Now, Naruto liked this because it was one of the only times when the raven actually looked at peace and almost innocent. Though Naruto knew from past experiences – the previous night included – that Sasuke was anything but innocent. A small smile formed on his rosy lips as he recalled his actions. Though, he had to admit, Sasuke had settled down a fair bit since returning to Konoha two years before…

* * *

Sasuke had returned after the long awaited death of his older brother, Itachi, who he had sworn to kill as revenge for the murder of his clan. Honestly the people of Konoha had lost all faith in him by then and certainly did not expect the last Uchiha to return to the village immediately following the event. Most were shocked by the return of the raven. Naruto however, wasn't just shocked; he was also delighted beyond words. He now had his best friend – who he had vowed to bring back home – home! Though, he wasn't overly trusted by anyone at the time, with the exception of Naruto who was looked upon as a monster by half the population of the village anyway.

The Hokage – Tsunade, or Baa-chan as Naruto likes to call her – refused to allow the boy, sixteen at the time, to take on any missions higher than D-rank for at least a year. She had been lenient though, and let him off after seven months of exceptionally good behavior when she had sent him on his first C-rank mission. It didn't take long for the Ranks to shoot up and then he was constantly on high ranked missions. His skills were unbearably good and everyone knew it. With constant nagging from Naruto, Tsunade had eventually given the Uchiha the privilege of taking part in the Chuunin exams, and then the Jounin exams shortly after; both which he passed with little or almost no effort at all. It took a total of 6 months to become an Anbu and then it only took a further 3 weeks to win the position as a captain. Not that this was the reason behind his 'settling down' as Naruto described it. Nope, it was in fact what had been going on during this time – behind the cold icy mask he wore, and behind the closed doors – that helped Sasuke's heart warm and his attitude soften.

You see, Sasuke had always believed himself to be asexual. Mostly because he had never been interested in anyone other than his brother…in any way. Naruto had once stolen his concentration on revenge for a small amount of time, but it certainly wasn't sexual attraction; it was annoyance. When they were younger and had first met Naruto had almost instantly pegged the boy as his rival. Sasuke didn't care. Considering the previous statement about his brother, this was no surprise. Yet the blond insisted on bugging him whenever they were together. Sasuke hated it.

Yet now that they were older - and not just physically but mentally too - the boys got on much better. Also the fact that for the first few months following his return, Sasuke found himself abandoned by nearly everyone but the blue eyed boy. If Sasuke had believer that they were best friends before he had left then he was certainly rethinking it now…they did everything together. At first it had just been the dobe who was always around Sasuke, almost forcefully. But soon the raven found himself constantly craving to be around his friend. They were never part. Because Naruto was so liked by all his friends – namely, the rookie nine, though they weren't rookies any longer, and Gai sensei's team – it didn't take Sasuke long to find acceptance in the people he used to look at as inconveniences…but Naruto was rubbing off on him as he looked at them as people worth his time and potentially his friends. Things only got worse when they started having sex.

It had happened one night in the summer, a little before Sasuke took the Jounin exams. The two had gone round to Sakura's. It was just a little get together. Nothing too special. You see, during the time that Sasuke had been away Sakura had grown herself a backbone and realized that her childhood crush – which Sasuke had been – just wasn't worth the effort or the pain of rejection and so she had looked elsewhere. Since Rock Lee was still vying for the kunoichi's attention, she had, albeit reluctantly, agreed to begin dating him. Though I say reluctantly…it didn't take long before Sakura was going to dinner with him frequently and they became a couple shortly after she came to terms with her feelings for the youthful lad. So…Sakura had decided to get together with her team since Sasuke had only recently begun going on proper missions with them again.

The boys had stayed late – until around three in the morning to be precise – and by the time they left, were thoroughly wasted. Both stumbled to Naruto's small apartment, since it was closer than the Uchiha mansion and both of the boys loathed the idea of walking home alone…not to mention the fact that Sasuke hadn't the slightest clue as to where he lived. They had literally toppled onto the bed when Sasuke had an overwhelming desire to kiss the blond dobe. Since the alcohol in his system didn't allow him to protest or even think about what he was doing he was atop the boy in seconds. Naruto greedily lapped at the sensation and in no time the two had been at it like horny – albeit drunk - rabbits.

The next day however had been another story. Naruto had woken first and was shocked to say the least that he was, not only sleeping next to his best friend, but also; he had no cloths on, he was immensely sticky, he had a number of hickies placed in the strangest locations all over his body, and the boy next to him was in a similar state. _'Oh, god!'_ he had thought _'I had sex with Sasuke!'_ As you can imagine, it was a strange position that Naruto had found himself in. So what did Naruto do? He did what he though would be best since he didn't entirely hate the thought of sleeping with Sasuke Uchiha – though he did worry a little about their friendship – he closed his eyes and pretended to still be asleep.

About half an hour later, the raven woke up. Now, he wasn't shocked at all to find himself in the same state as Naruto. You see, the last Uchiha had never had a problem with remembering what he did when he was out of his mind on booze, what he did have a problem with however, was the pain that was shooting through his head. He felt like he was being stabbed in the head with vibrating sword. I know, stupid comparison, but that is what he had felt like. He clambered out of the bed in search of a cure. Sadly, due to the fact that Naruto was never in pain for very long – since Kyuubi healed him almost instantly – he had nothing in his house to aid a hangover. Sasuke had simply climbed back into bed and flung himself onto Naruto, nuzzling into his chest and groaning at the pain. Naruto had frozen – its not that he didn't want it, it just hadn't been expected. Sure they'd had sex. But Naruto was of the opinion that it was all it had been; sex. No feelings on the Uchihas side. Snuggling certainly wasn't expected. _'Perhaps he's still drunk'_ was Naruto's answer to the strange behavior.

He had been wrong though, and after Sasuke's deathly long hangover period, he had declared the blond as his.

"Naruto. As of now, you're mine! Get your stuff, your moving in with me."

Naruto hadn't argued; he hadn't even given thought to the issues it would entail. The whole relationship had been strange at first and a little awkward too, but it hadn't taken long for the pair to realize that they had both craved for this months before and were now getting what they both wanted. Naruto had indeed moved into the Uchiha mansion and everything had been perfect from that day on. Well, I say perfect, but how perfect can you get when it comes to them. They do still fight almost constantly, but it's all harmless.

Ever since they got together as boyfriends though, Sasuke turned soft. Well, sometimes, like when he was with Naruto. He was never soft otherwise and still held his Uchiha pride and insane arrogance – but it was fleeting, usually he was nicer to people. Note I say nicer, he still wasn't extremely nice to most, but he tolerated life and the people in it. His rash actions had also steadied and he was frequently calm when dealing in situations – although he had been calm before, he had usually dealt with problems in extreme measures (such as killing the person involved) and this was not tolerable behavior – making life much easier and he had to admit it was now enjoyable. Oh gosh, what love could do!

* * *

Naruto attempted to stifle a yawn but succeeded only in straining his jaw. He rolled over to face the patio doors before stretching – slowly, careful not to wake his boyfriend who still lay motionless beside him – and squirming out or bed. Shuffling over to the glass doors, he took hold of the small handle before sliding them across and relishing the delightful heat that smothered his body – clad only in a pair of orange boxers – as he passed out into the garden and made his way towards the large outdoor pool. The blond perched himself at the side and dipped his feet into the cool water, relaxing in the morning atmosphere around him. He smiled to himself; life simply could not get better.

Whilst Sasuke had been busy climbing the ranks of the ninja, Naruto had not been far ahead. He had astonished everyone at the beginning of the year when he presented the amazing news that he was going to become the Hokage. However, Tsunade said that she would first train him a little at a time until he was fully prepared for the job. So he was probably due to meet her shortly, as he did every day now.

So…yes, life was good. Life was, as one would say; perfect. Though, Naruto was aware that the pleasure would not last forever. He knew that one of these days Sasuke would leave him. It was no secret. It was common knowledge that Sasuke Uchiha had always had two goals in his lifetime. The first was to kill his brother – accomplished – while the second was to revive his clan. Now…although the raven is very much in love with his angel, that is Naruto, he refuses to relinquish his remaining goal and thus will need to part from the blond when he feels the need to make babies. You know – because Naruto is a male and cannot be impregnated. Yeh, it sucks that life is so cruel. But they have both agreed to live life as happily and as peacefully as they see fit until that dreaded day comes.

Sighing to himself, our blond picks himself up off of the patio floor and heads back into the compound; fully intent on showering before preparing breakfast and readying himself for the day ahead.

* * *

A dozy sigh was produced as Sasuke opened his eyes but, since he was greeted with the strong rays of sunshine which were blasting their way into his bedroom with malice, he subsequently shut them again; protecting the coal black orbs from the horrible morning. "Urhh," he groaned, his voice heavy from sleep, as he shifted his body weight and slipped out of bed "I hate mornings". He could smell the delicious fragrance as it floated its way through the house and it lifted his mood somewhat. _'What's the dobe made this morning?' _He pondered as he proceeded to the kitchen.

Sasuke licked his lips as he stared openly at his gorgeous lover, who at this moment was fast at work creating a fry up – an English breakfast that Naruto had learned to make when he was on a mission to some village that had took it upon itself to introduce foreign foods to Japan. Naruto had relished most of the food he found there and he now indulged himself with the recipes a lot. Not that Sasuke minded; it was better than nothing but ramen he supposed. _'Bacon, eggs, sausages…toast, and…orange juice?' _Sasuke listed the scrumptious food as he gazed at the scene in front of him.

Naruto was piling the meal onto two plates when Sasuke decided to surprise his boyfriend. Creeping skillfully, silently, and unnoticed, up to the shorter boy, before wrapping his arms around his possession. Naruto jumped slightly – startled - before leaning back into Sasuke's chest and smiling to himself as he finished serving the food. He giggled slightly and twisted his body so that he came face to face with the raven haired teen. "Breakfast is served" he declared in a matter-of-fact tone before pressing further onto his love and kissing Sasuke's lips lightly.

They ate breakfast somewhat silently, comfortable in each others presence. It was usually like this in mornings as both were still slightly drowsy. Sasuke had just finished his food but waited patiently for Naruto – who would leave for his training as soon as he was done – before walking the blond to the front of the glorious house.

Naruto gripped the door handle, twisting the key until he heard and felt the click of the lock. He pulled the door open and stepped out onto the porch before turning and smiling blissfully at his dark haired lover. _'Oh why, oh why is he so cute? He's like a little puppy-' _Sasuke smirked at the thought, _'-and hot, he's so scrumptious, it's as if he wants me to eat him' _before pulling the boy into his embrace so that their faces were barely an inch apart. The blond could feel his boyfriend's breath as it ghosted over his sensitive lips and he wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck.

"Love you, dobe," ware the whispered words that made the jinchuuriki's heart clench and his world spin…he couldn't understand how those simple three words, when spoken by the Uchiha, could cause such wonderful feelings to course through his veins. Naruto closed the gap between the couple abruptly. Their lips moved lovingly against the others before the blond felt his heart jump as Sasuke probed at the entrance to his mouth. Naruto parted his lips and the kiss deepened. Sasuke let his tongue slip into his lovers cavern and it immediately reacted to the familiar surroundings, exploring and discovering new tastes and textures…god how Sasuke loved the way his dobe tasted, everything about him was simply perfect. Naruto's own organ didn't take long before it intertwined with the others and they began a heated struggle to gain dominance in the kiss. Sasuke won – no surprise – he always did.

Annoyingly, the need for air was reaching its limits and, though Sasuke might not have been wiling to relinquish the burning feeling in his lungs by breaking their heated kiss, Naruto was. Pulling away, azure eyes opened - lust apparent in them already – to meet an equally needy looking Uchiha.

"Love you too, Teme."

He said as he pulled out of the raven's arms and turned before stepping further out into the village. He looked back as his feet carried him down the front steps and further away from his desire, Sasuke smiled at him tenderly and watched the boy continue onward. Sighing, he turned and made his way back into the house, and frowned as he realized he would now need to ready himself for his work. Sasuke Uchiha didn't like mornings. Oh no, he didn't.

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**Well. There you are; the first chapter. I hope you like it. It'll get better don't worry! Hehe I'm quite impressed with it… strangely, because I like it and I don't usually like first chapters P Well... hope you enjoyed reviews are appreciated D Xx..xX**


	2. Camping

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

'_It really is boiling today' _Naruto realized as he licked another drop of ice cream from his tanned hand. He was on his way to the Hokage tower when he had passed a stall selling ice cream and, well, this is Naruto Uzumaki we're talking about; he just couldn't resist. But now he was wishing he had as the sticky substance continuously dripped onto him. The white iced cream had also made him notice just how hot it was though…it wasn't rare for Konoha to have nice weather, it just wasn't usually to this extent. The blond swore he could see the dirt road beneath him smoke as the dust was evaporated under the immense heat of the sun.

He paid it no mind though as he turned his attention back to the matters at hand…his ice cream. He was licking desperately at it to save melting droplets crawling over his fingers again. He didn't get far however as someone's voice rang to him from a short distance behind; Kiba.

"Hey, Mate! How's it going…Mr. Hokage?!" the dog lover bellowed as he reached the jinchuuriki. Naruto smiled brightly at his best friend; since Sasuke was now his lover, Naruto no longer classified him as a best friend – it was true that he was still his closest friend, but the blond had decided he needed someone actually labeled as his best friend – and over the years as Kiba and Naruto had been paired together on missions and such they had become very good friends, so Naruto though it was only fair that Kiba took the title.

"Kiba! Not bad thanks, you? Haven't seen you in a while. Where've you been? Oh! And how's lover girl?" the blond replied as the smile faded and his trademark Uzumaki grin took its place.

"What are you talking about Naruto? I saw you yesterday you dolt," the Inuzuka replied chuckling slightly at his friend's antics, "She's fine…great really, we're great. I really gotta thank you again for helping me out with her! What would I do without you? But remember Naruto, not everyone can know, If word got round to her family then I'd be murdered, she is the Hyuuga heir after all."

Yup, Kiba and Hinata…bet you would never have guessed that one. Naruto had indeed helped the boy get the opal eyes heiress…in fact it was mostly all due to Naruto that the Hyuuga had even looked at Kiba in any way other than a friend. You see, Hinata had always had a mad hot crush on Naruto. And although the blond had lived up to his obliviousness by not having the slightest clue about it…everyone else knew perfectly well of Hinata's feelings. Kiba included; and it was driving the dog lover mad with jealousy.

Kiba had arrived at Sakura's door one night and had suddenly thrown all his – rather strong and confusing - feelings onto her. The brunette didn't want to end up hating Naruto just because the girl he, himself loved happened to be in love with the blond; that wouldn't be fair. But Kiba knew it would end up that way, and he had grown quite close to the boy so didn't want to destroy that bond. He just couldn't control the jealousy. Sakura had tried to calm – the extremely stressed out – Kiba down…and had succeeded in dong so long enough to get him out of her house.

She had immediately done what Kiba should have done in the first place; she had gone to Naruto. She had told him how Kiba felt and Naruto had almost broken into tears. He had never realized that Hinata looked at him that way and didn't want any hassle to come of the situation. Of course, Naruto being Naruto had gone to Hinata and spoken to her up front…

* * *

A fifteen-year-old Hinata had sat at her usual spot at the park. It was just past eight at night, the time she usually arrived. She always came here to think; think about life, think about family, think about love, think about future. She knew she had little to look forward to in her life. Little to expect for her love life. Even less to expect from her family. As for her future she simply did not know. But never the less she always came here at nights…to the little park near the edge of town. However something else had been in store for her that night.

She heard a rustle to the side of the bench she was sat on. There was a hedge, it was small and looked miss placed for it was the only one there. A small rabbit bounced happily from the leaves of the bush and hopped towards her before scurrying off behind another hedge at the opposite side of the small park. As she tore her eyes away from where the rabbit had been, she spotted something she had never expected; Naruto Uzumaki was standing in front of the empty seat next to her and gave her a look as if asking her permission to sit.

The Hyuuga didn't know what to do and she already felt her face heat up. She cursed her stupid embarrassment, why couldn't she just smile and talk to him. She was never like this with anyone else. Her thoughts had taken her away from her surroundings for a moment and she gazed dreamily at Naruto – who was now sitting next to her on the cold wooden bench. He could see it now, how completely obvious her infatuation really was. It didn't matter though, even if he had had feelings for the opal eyed beauty sitting in front of him – which he didn't – there was no way he would have became her boyfriend, not after knowing that Kiba's feelings were so strong; he couldn't do that to a friend; he couldn't hurt anyone that way.

"Hinata, I know." Naruto spoke bluntly, trying his hardest not to get the girls hopes up. Trying even harder to make sure she didn't faint. Hinata visually paled as the words left his mouth – her blush vanishing completely - she could have questioned 'know what?' but she wasn't stupid…she knew what he was talking about – that he had finally figured it out or someone had finally told him. She felt scarred, mostly of rejection. But she also felt relief; she could finally stop holding her breath hoping that the boy in front of her would love her. If he did then they would most likely become a couple, and if he didn't she would be heartbroken, but had no doubt in her mind that she would get over it. She could finally stop agonizing over this blond.

"Hinata, I know…I know you like me. I found out earlier today. I…don't quite know how to say this. I just couldn't picture us together…we don't fit, and we don't know each other well enough. I'm sorry." Naruto looked into her eyes and face to gauge the reaction, to see if his words had really hurt her; he hoped they hadn't been too hard on her; he really did like the girl. She was so kind and sweet and never meant harm to anyone. Though all he could see was that she palled further. Truthfully he had never seen her true skin colour; she always wore a blush when he saw her, at least now he knew why.

Hinata's heart had plummeted a million miles at his words. She knew he wanted to let her down gently, but there really was no way to let her down gently, not when it was by him. All her hopes, her dreams, her desires had just come crashing down. She just couldn't take it. Letting everything go; she fell forwards, only stopping when she felt the soft fabric of the blond's jumper. She let the tears roll her down face. She didn't care now. It was over, it was all over. She might have thought – told her self – before that she would get over this, but right now she thought she was dying.

Naruto felt her trembling and he also felt the dampness growing on his shoulder. He could practically feel her heart breaking. This needed to be done though. He knew he couldn't have her struggling with the pain of not knowing how he felt – he had been forced to live with that pain everyday before Sasuke had left – and he could feel her relief even if she could not. He wrapped his arms round her body and pulled her closer into his embrace, burying his head in her raven hair. He held her for some time – perhaps 5 minutes, perhaps 5 hours – rocking her gently back and forth in attempts to comfort her. After a while she broke away, light sniffling sounds erupted from her – still shaking – figure. Naruto waited, waited for her to stop crying. And she did.

"Naruto-kun…Th-thank you." She smiled sweetly at him. She felt so ashamed at herself for letting him see how upset she was…she felt like a fool.

"Don't thank me Hinata-chan. I'm here for you, I always will be. And so are all your other friends…there are others out there that love you. You're a great person Hinata-chan, never believe anything else. And to top that you're an amazing Shinobi," Hinata had stopped crying completely now and allowed a slight chuckle to radiate from her dainty form as she heard his words; they were so sincere, "not to mention that you're really beautiful – and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better." Hinata's head shot up at that last comment, she wanted to ask him why he wouldn't return her feelings if he though she was beautiful, but found her shyness still got in the way of asking such bold questions. It seemed she didn't need to though, for Naruto answered her question a moment later anyway.

"I know you're probably wondering if there was another reason why I can't return your feelings. Since I gave such a lame excuse earlier I might as well tell you the truth…I'm already in love with someone. On top of that, I'm friends with someone who loves you. As stupid as it must sound to you now, I know I'm not the one who is supposed to be with you; he is. I can't tell you who he is but I know you will find him; you'll fall in love with him. You guys will be happy together. I know it!" He finished his long and emotional speech with a wide grin and Hinata laughed, she just laughed. It was so strange that the one person who had just hurt her so badly moments ago had completely cheered her up already.

"Oh, Naruto-kun. You're so special." Was what she had said. Naruto just continued to grin sheepishly at her. "But, I believe I know who you are in love with." Hinata spoke fluently - for the first time to the blond – and smiled brightly. Naruto however, clearly stiffened at the comment. How the hell would she know!? The next comment though, kept Naruto's head from blowing up in embarrassment.

"Its Sakura-chan isn't it?" _'Oh thank god she doesn't know'_ was the only thought running through his head, but still he couldn't lie to her. So he told her truthfully that it wasn't; she was just someone who he held close to him. The two sat at the bench for over an hour, talking about one random topic to another. By the time they were finished, both were in insanely good moods, and both were insanely tired. So they parted ways…a new bond of friendship growing strong.

It had taken exactly 9 days for Kiba and Hinata to get together. It had all been because of Naruto, of course. Hinata never found out who he loved; not until some time later that is.

* * *

"Of course I know Kiba! You guys have kept it secret for what…3 years?! I'm not going to tell a soul. Promise!" the blond replied to his friend as the two continued to walk through the streets towards the Hokage tower. The scorching sun causing ripples of sweat to run down their skin.

"Anyways...How's lover boy?" Kiba chimed as he wiped the sweat gathering on his brow with an equally perspiring arm.

"Pfft, the usual; stoic, moody bastard hehe. Yeh he's good."

"I thought so. Say, How do you fancy coming for a week camping?"

"Oh. My. God. Kiba! You can't be serious! That would totally be the best ever! I've been dying for a break! But there is no way Baa-chan would allow it."

"Hmm, you sure about that?" Kiba asked whilst giving his friend a knowing smile. Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion; was he missing something?

"What do you mean Kiba?"

"I already talked to her, she said that it would be good for you to take some time to yourself. 'It will help you realize that letting your mind breathe is good,'" the Inuzuka spoke in a mocking tone obviously meant to resemble the current Hokage "well that's what she said anyways. She stopped Sasuke's missions for a week too. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon, if you want to come that is."

"If! If I want to come!? Of course I'm coming! Meet you at the gates at say, oneish? Ooooh! Who else is coming?"

"Yeh sure, one is fine. Erm…lets see, there's you and Sasuke, me and Hinata, Sakura and Lee are coming too, um, Neji, Ino, oh yeh! And Iruka and Kakashi have to come to 'keep things in order'" Kiba mimicked Tsunade's voice again.

The two had just reached the tower and quickly stepped into a shaded area - which was barely there - next to the entrance, though it didn't help much to cool them.

"It sounds like loads of fun Kiba. I'll make sure we're there! See you tomorrow then!" Naruto said as he stepped further towards the door.

"Yeh see you Naruto." Kiba said as he grudgingly stepped back into the sunlight and down the street. Naruto suddenly remembered something…ice cream. Looking down at where the thing had been in his hand was only a floppy piece of…well, what used to be the cone, but was now something gooey and clingy as it had plastered itself to his hand. The actually ice cream was gone completely; leaving sticky lines all over his fingers and hand. He groaned in disgust at the mess and shook his hand lividly to rid him of the substance. Once the blond was happy he had gotten as much of the food off as he could, Naruto stepped inside the building.

* * *

Naruto wore a rather confused look as he weaved his way through the corridors of the tower…_'where the hell is baa-chan? She's always in her office, hmm strange. Aha! Sakura-chan!' _The blond approached his friend hastily and the pink haired kunoichi beamed with happiness as soon as she saw him. She was sat on a small brown couch in a little waiting area of sorts…though the girl wasn't waiting for anything; she had most likely just taken a seat to rest on for a while. Naruto immediately plonked down beside her.

"Naruto!" She gushed enthusiastically, though her voice was dripping with tiredness; probably due to the now rather large bump on her abdomen "What're you doing here? I thought you'd be with Tsunade-sama." Yes Sakura is pregnant…shocker right? It is to none other than Rock-lee - not so surprising since he is her boyfriend – and though they haven't been dating for an extremely large amount of time; just a little longer than Naruto and Sasuke, they both decided that they should keep the baby. Lee even proposed to her, they don't know when they will hold the wedding though; most likely after the baby is born. And so sits Sakura with a 7 month old bump – very noticeable – and with quite a surprised look on her face at seeing Naruto at this time of day. The whole day-to-day activities for team seven had become overly organized and each day passed much like the previous had. It was great; everyone was happy with the way they led their lives and there was constantly an all round peaceful environment. This being said, Naruto usually found himself sat in front of Tsunade at this time of day and it usually wasn't until after seeing her for a couple of hours that he took some time to go and talk to Sakura.

"Well, I actually wanted to ask about her. I can't find the old woman anywhere! She wasn't in her office so I though I'd come see you until she turns up." The jinchuuriki replied with a smile on his face.

"Oh ok Naruto. Maybe she had to be somewhere. Hokage stuff you know. You'll have to do things like that - meetings and such - when you're Hokage."

"Yes, yes I know that Sakura. I really don't mind that much though. I'm getting to be where I always wanted to be!"

"You sure are Naruto. Everything has turned out awesome now hasn't it?" Naruto smiled at her words…"yeh, I guess it has." Sakura looked about to say something when she paused suddenly and placed a hand on her stomach.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, afraid his friend was in pain.

"It's kicking." She replied simply and Naruto's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull.

"Wow Sakura-chan! What does it feel like?" he said joyfully. She didn't say anything, she just took hold of his hand and placed it where hers had previously been.

"Can you feel it Naruto?" she asked and turned to look at him. The blond wasn't looking at her any more; his eyes were fixed on her bloated tummy. He could feel it - the little movements causing small prods to reach his palm – and his smile broadened. _'Wow. Just underneath my hand there's a baby…a living baby, one that I'll be able to hold when it's born. I wonder if Sakura-chan will let me hold it. I wanna be like its uncle too…or something.'_ The kicking had stopped and Naruto took his hand away. The blond looked up and his cerulean orbs were met with Sakura's emerald ones. He smiled at her, he was so happy when his friends were happy…he relished in the joy of others.

"I felt it Sakura-chan. That's amazing. I'm so pleased for you and-"

"Naruto! There you are, hurry up and get to my office." The strict voice of the Hokage bellowed down the hall. Sakura giggled and ushered Naruto away – so that Tsunade wouldn't bite his head off - telling him that she would see him later.

* * *

"Sasuke, I'm home." Naruto mumbled - not expecting a reply - as he entered the house and began shuffling through the halls, intent on getting to one place; the living room. It was what he always did when he got home…he'd sit in the luxurious room, watching television – an item most people in this part of Japan didn't have – and wait patiently for his lover to arrive home. There were times when Sasuke got home first, though it was rare and usually only before he had long missions. A small smirk appeared on Naruto's face as he flung himself onto the couch – it was cream, lavishly soft and comfortable, it was extremely big and turned so that it was a semi circle – he picked up the remote which was lying next to him and turned on the contraption. Sasuke wouldn't have any more missions for a week…tomorrow they would go camping, Naruto couldn't wait. He was overly exited already.

The blond watched as the images flickered over the screen, causing a glow to spread through the room. He turned the sound down and let his eyelids drop. He was the most tired he had been in a long time. Today Tsunade had made him do some practices; they were all about mind skills, so he was forced to use Kyuubi frequently to help him stay focused.

Naruto has been able to speak with Kyuubi for about three years now – her voice had come to him when he was upset over meeting Sasuke again…Sasuke had tried to kill him a second time – and he was now used to hearing her. Yes, Kyuubi is female…well she's technically a hermaphrodite (both male and female). While in her fox form she is male; thus being why she has always been presumed a male. Though she herself much prefers to be female and only uses her male form and voice when she wants to be threatening…since it always seems to work better. Her female form does not vary much from a human's; she has a woman's body, just with some extra features…nine tails, fox ears, claws, fangs…that sort of features. Naruto doesn't see her much though, since she rarely pulls him inside her cage. But he does hear her voice and she always seems to be there for him when he needs help physically or emotionally. She hates to see her 'kit' - as she calls him – hurt.

* * *

Another tear drop made its way down his face. It was night now and Sasuke had finished his work long ago. Yet he had chosen to wonder around the Uchiha district…he needed time to think. He knew he should have children before he turned 20 and he was nearly nineteen already, considering he had to take into account the pregnancy period – nine months - he really didn't have much time left. So he had been thinking about when he was going to have to throw away his happiness for his goal. He had made a decision. Tomorrow…he would buy a house for Naruto and then try to let him down gently. Though he was aware of how much pain it would cause his blond, since it was ripping the raven apart too.

'_M__y feelings don't matter…what I want isn't important…I have to do this for the family…I need to revive my clan…it doesn't matter what I want…I need to do this…I don't have a choice.'_

Tonight he would probably stay awake; watching his lover dream…it would be the last time he'd ever get to see that. Sasuke felt more streams paint their way down his pale face. He wasn't crying…Uchihas don't cry. But he couldn't stop the warm droplets from pouring down his face. It was the same with his heart; he couldn't stop the pain from restricting his breathing every time he thought about never being with Naruto again. All he wanted was to be with Naruto…if only everything else in the world could disappear…if only Naruto had been born a girl. Then again if Naruto had been a woman, Sasuke doubted he would have fallen for the idiot. Because he loved the blond for who he was, every single part of the boy he adored.

This had to be done. He had to ignore his heart for now. Perhaps in time he would grow to love the woman he chose. Maybe he will fall in love with her. But in truth he knew it wasn't going to happen. He knew he would never love like he loved now. Hell, he'd probably never stop loving Naruto.

Sasuke stopped abruptly…looking up at his home he sighed. Wiping the sticky tear streaks from his face, he climbed the steps and entered his warm home. He slowly made his way through the house, he knew where Naruto would be - he was always there when Sasuke returned – waiting for him. The television had been left on and the room was bathed in a blue haze, the channel the box had been on had finished for the night and had left a blue picture telling the viewer what time it would start again.

Sasuke looked down at the curled up blond on his couch. He smiled to himself and slowly edged his way between the boy and the back of the chair. Once he was settled he lifted his hand and removed Naruto's headband – the jinchuuriki had forgotten to do so when he came in – Sasuke always thought Naruto looked better without the band on. Bringing his face closer to his lovers, he gently placed a chaste kiss on the tanned nose. Naruto fidgeted a little before his large azure eyes opened. They were greeted with watery coal black orbs.

"Sasuke," Naruto said slowly "are you ok?" Sasuke just nodded his head before pulling the blond closer to him and kissing him passionately. When they separated, a thin tear had cascaded its way down Sasuke's cheek and it didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"Sasuke, I know there's something wrong. You're crying."

"I'm not." The raven's voice betrayed his feelings as it sounded broken and shaky. "Yes, you are Sasuke, I can see it. Tell me what's wrong, please." God he hated this. Naruto hated when Sasuke would do this. He was doing it more and more recently. Some nights he would come in late and had obviously been crying, but when Naruto had asked him what was wrong he would always deny being upset; as if his Uchihaness forbid him to show any emotions even now.

"Naruto," he spoke quietly, barely a whisper...he was almost breathing the words "please, Naruto. Let me make love to you?"

Naruto sighed; this was something that happened a lot as well. Sasuke would never ask that otherwise; only on those nights that Sasuke returned home upset. Naruto didn't like it; it made him worry about their relationship. But then nothing ever happened…the next day everything was always fine. But it didn't mean that one of these days it wouldn't be fine. The next day Sasuke would leave him for sure. Those thoughts made Naruto want to cry and scream and hit things. He never did though. And tonight would be no different.

"No Sasuke, I'm really tired tonight. Baa-chan had me working on some mind techniques and I'm too knackered. Tomorrow night though, I promise." He said with a smile. Sasuke looked away from Naruto, his words cut deep…'tomorrow night' but there wouldn't be a tomorrow night. Sasuke felt more tears leak from his already red eyes. Something clicked in Naruto's head as soon as Sasuke's eyes had left his…

…Camping.

"Sasuke! I almost forgot, we're going camping tomorrow! Kiba told me today…you don't have missions because Baa-chan cancelled them for a week. So we have to go Sasuke. Please!?" Sasuke's eyes darted straight back to Naruto's, the blonde's face was beaming with joy. _'A week. That means that I'll have another week with Naruto. What is one more week going to do huh? Nothing. Yes, we have to go camping. It would be a really nice thing to do before we go our separate ways.' _The last Uchiha schooled his appearance to hide his happiness. He put on a small frown and began complaining about how he didn't like going to things like that, about how he didn't like socializing and that they should spend the week together – alone - instead. He knew Naruto would have none of it. Which he didn't, he nagged all the way until they reached the bedroom. Sasuke gave in just as the two lay down.

He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and smiled at the blond. A true smile - not a smirk – the type the he only showed to his lover. Naruto was the only one who could make him smile like that; the only one who could make him truly happy. Sasuke loved him more than anything else he had ever known.

"I love you, Naruto."

"Love you too."

* * *

**Yay! The second chapter is finished hehe. I hope you guys like the story. I plan on making a sequel already…a few actually. Tell me what you think. The next chapter will be day one of camping. Reviews are really appreciated… Xx..xX**


	3. Camping: day one

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**The Lemon in this chapter has been removed. Links to this story with lemons are on my page.**

* * *

"Saaaaaasuke" Naruto chimed in a sing song voice before he continued annoying the hell out of his lover. He was standing at the front door – two large rucksacks at his side - waiting for the raven to trudge downstairs.

The blond had woken extra early this morning and – though he knew it wasn't smart – had taken it upon himself to wake his boyfriend from his slumber...after he had packed their bags and gotten himself ready that is. Now, I might have mentioned before that Sasuke didn't like mornings…but he liked them even less when he woke due to a certain blue eyed blond who was singing at the top of his lungs the most ridiculous and annoying two words the raven thought he would ever hear…

"Huuurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry uuuup, hurry up-up-up."

To make matters worse – Sasuke's mood included – the boy hadn't stopped yelling the same thing for over half an hour. During which time Sasuke had taken a shower, dressed, eaten breakfast and restrained himself from killing Naruto whilst he followed the raven everywhere he went. What pissed the Uchiha off even more was that it was that he hadn't even gotten a morning kiss, or hug, or an actual conversation…unless you considered 'hurry up' a conversation.

Yet – to Sasuke's pleasure – a few minutes ago Naruto had ceased following his lover around and had taken to standing at the doorway whilst he continued singing. However as soon as the blond had exited the room Sasuke's frown had changed and he allowed a smile to creep onto his face. Though he would never admit it – not even to himself – he actually liked it when the dobe acted like a fool; sure it annoyed him but he still adored the way no one else could do the things Naruto did to him…the way no one else could break through his ice barrier like Naruto could. Mumbling curses under his breath and slipping his scowl back in place, Sasuke headed downstairs towards his waiting blond.

"Huuurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry uuu-mmph" Naruto had been so caught up in trying to agitate the Uchiha upstairs that he hadn't even realized the boy was right in front of him, that is until he found himself unable to speak; probably due to the lips that were currently latched onto his own. Deciding not to worsen his lover's mood, Naruto gladly received the wet muscle that was attempting to enter his mouth only to have it tease and play with his own tongue.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist – pulling them impossibly closer - and he immediately found his own arms lacing their way behind Sasuke's neck. Letting his eyes close completely, Naruto pressed himself further onto his boyfriend and moaned into the kiss; causing it to deepen even more. The two boys hungrily licked at each others mouths and when they ran out of air Sasuke is the first to pull away and instantly his lips descended to Naruto's jaw line…nibbling and sucking – causing more moans to erupt from the shorter boy - as he moved downwards. Naruto swung his head back to allow the raven better access to his tan neck; his breath catching as he felt teeth lock onto the tender skin. Sasuke sucked on his boyfriends slender neck, biting down hard he almost stopped when he heard a whimper. _'This is revenge for torturing me all morning'_ the raven chuckled to himself before returning to a swollen pair of supple lips. What he didn't expect was for the luscious lips to move backwards – away from him -along with his angel's body.

"S-sasuke! We're gonna be late if we don't go now." Naruto said while picking the bags up and flinging one in his lovers' direction. Sasuke growled; he didn't want to go yet. Naruto couldn't expect to leave now, especially with a rather noticeable 'problem' forming between his legs.

"Naruto," he purred seductively "how about you and me be fashionably late and nip upstairs for say…ten minutes?"

"No, Sasuke. God, sometimes I reckon you've got a one track mind! I told Kiba I'd be there at one and we are going to be there at one. Now get your tidy little ass moving!"

* * *

"Nice of you to finally join us" Sasuke mumbled as Kakashi appeared with a pop, receding smoke vanishing into the atmosphere as he spoke his – much expected – excuse…

"Oh, I'm sorry Sasuke. I was just on my way down here, when all of a sudden I got lost on the road of life." The silver haired Jounin's only visible eye closed as – presumably, considering his face is hidden – he smiled. Obviously he had failed to notice the eyes that were trying to glare holes straight through his head…_'damn him. He was half an hour late! Me and Naruto didn't even have to be here on time…stuff ten minutes we could have had at least half an hour to deal with my problem. But no, we had to come here right on time just so that we could wait around for him!' _needless to say; Sasuke was not very happy. He unconsciously tightened his hold on his blond as he continued to glare.

The two had arrived perfectly on time to a waiting Kiba with his arms wrapped protectively around his – flushed and looking rather tired – Hyuuga heiress; they were on the right side of the gate and both turned to look in their direction as soon as Naruto opened his mouth and proclaimed how he wasn't a minute late. Sasuke just groaned and slumped against the wall…nobody else was here except the Inuzuka and his girl so why on earth could Naruto not have been just ten minutes late! It might have helped the Uchiha's mood; instead he stood with a deathly aura surrounding him and was grumbling about stupid blondes and their stupid teasing.

It hadn't taken long for the others to arrive…Lee was next and Sakura who looked rather good this morning. She had a peaceful happy atmosphere about her, which was quite strange for her; though she had been a lot less violent since the start of her pregnancy. The two had approached and Lee had almost immediately engaged in conversation with anyone willing to listen…Hinata seemed to be the only one kind enough to do so, considering Sasuke was not in a talking mood – or listening for that matter – and Kiba and Naruto were already discussing something along the lines of their favorite animals.

The three couples waited patiently for a few more minutes before Neji arrived. And then another few moments passed before the shrill voice of one very well known Kunoichi could be heard. The exited and enthusiastic blond that was Ino appeared in the distance with – a worn out looking – Iruka in tow. That had been it for another half hour before Kakashi eventually did appear, classically with his regular excuse.

The group didn't waste any more time before they took off into the woods…intent on finding a good place to set up camp.

* * *

Three hours later and they were still traveling through the – seemingly never ending – woods; Naruto and Kiba were in the lead…supposedly Kiba knew of 'a great spot where they'd absolutely love it' but Sasuke wasn't so sure he liked the whole idea very much any more. Sure he'd get to spend more time with Naruto and not have to bark orders as Anbu captain, but in his foul mood he really thought it wasn't worth the hassle. Of course, the fact that he wasn't likely to get much time alone with Naruto for the whole week had something to do with his dreadful mood also.

Sakura and Ino were lagging behind, mostly because Sakura was unable to go exceedingly fast in her current condition. Not to mention the fact that ever since they had met at the gates they have been inseparably talking each others ears off - much like Kiba and Naruto actually – while everyone else were somewhere in the middle of the group…Sasuke being directly behind Naruto; if only just for the gorgeous view.

Moments passed before Kiba steered everyone off to the left into a deeper, darker part of the woods…Nobody else seemed to notice but Sasuke realized that their surroundings were changing slightly; the trees appeared to be getting thicker and the woodland seemed to grow wilder. Yet he paid it no mind as they sped through the treetops. Vaguely he noted that his thoughts were traveling elsewhere as he began to ponder about his relationship with his blond lover once again…

Sakura let out a loud giggle at the insinuation her blonde haired girlfriend had just appeared to make.

"Oh Ino! Don't be so crude," She said in a raspy voice, lowered so that the others ahead of them could not hear "you know I'm over seven months pregnant now and – to tell you the truth - we can't really do much in that sense any more…in fact we can only really cope with doggy now,"

"You mean;_ you_ can only cope with it!" Ino yelled before erupting into more giggles. Sakura joined her, ignoring the pink tinge on her cheeks as she blushed furiously at their topic of conversation but nevertheless she continued to laugh about her love life..."Precisely…hehe…I'm really…not very flexible at the moment…hahaha" the pink haired kunoichi nearly yelled out between fits of laughter…oh her and Ino had such banter, she though to herself before she remembered where she was and what she had just shouted out for all of her friends to hear. She seriously thought she was going to faint at the silence of the group; even Kiba and Naruto had ceased their chatting.

Most just shook their heads before turning back to their own discussions…except Kiba, Naruto, Kakashi and Lee who all burst into laughter – bar Lee who stayed perfectly silent with a face resembling a tomato – before turning back to their own discussions.

"Kakashi-sensei! Don't laugh at Sakura…You're providing a bad habit, we are here to keep things in order remember?" Iruka's strict voice scolded his colleague quietly; he didn't really want to embarrass his friend too much.

"Oh loosen up Iruka-chan…we might be here to work, but I have absolutely no intention of doing so. Treat this like a holiday…those 'kids' are old enough to look after themselves now and even Tsunade knows that."

"If that's true then why did she send us here in the first place?"

"It's simple; she thought we needed a break." Kakashi's eyes showed a hidden humor to them and Iruka immediately knew there was something he was not being told.

"I don't believe you. There was another reason wasn't there, Kakashi?"

"Well, probably because she thought we deserved some alone time too."

"What? Why would she even think that? Explain Kakashi."

"Come on Dolphin-chan-"

"Shhh! I've told you not to call me that in public, do you want the whole world to know?"

"Um, actually ye-"

"Kakashi!"

"Look. Iruka. You can keep me a secret if you really feel it necessary…"

"Thank you Kakashi, I'm glad you fina-"

"But I have absolutely no intention of keeping you one!"

"What? Kakashi why are you being so difficult here? I've told you before, I don't want people to know about our relationship and I plan on keeping things that way-"

The group came to a sudden stop – one that sent Sasuke straight into the back of Naruto and caused both of them to topple over – as they reached a rather large, secluded opening in the middle of what seemed like walls of thick dark trees. The place smelled strongly of wood and forestry…almost tropical too. The place looked amazing; a perfect place for camping, it was so secluded and it seemed like the perfect place.

Naruto smiled up at Sasuke as he gazed at the scene…the blond couldn't help smiling at his lover; the serene look on his pale, creamy face made him look gorgeous in Naruto's eyes – probably in everyone else's too – but the moment didn't last long as he placed a small peck on his boyfriend's cheek before asking him nicely to get off…

"You're squishing me teme…hurry up and get the hell off!" Well…Naruto hadn't meant it to come out so harsh at all and he pondered for a moment why he had said that, but only for a moment as Sasuke removed himself from the azure eyed boy and they both climbed to their feet. The Uchiha didn't look offended by the comment, but inwardly he was extremely concerned as to why he had been snapped at…he hadn't done anything to upset his blond as far as he could remember. He frowned; his mood dropping even lower as he marched off to set up his and Naruto's tent. Naruto's worries however, vanished completely as he took in the setting affront him.

"Oooooh! You really weren't joking Kiba! This place rocks!" He exclaimed excitedly while casting glances around himself at the rest of their friends who were now – mostly - setting up camp. Kiba grinned in reply; his ego having shot up alarmingly at the comment.

"Yeh well you know I'm good with these things…I'm actually the bomb for camping!"

"Suuuure you are Kiba!" the blond retorted sarcastically before heading in the direction Sasuke had gone. He found his boyfriend situated in a corner – it seemed to be a curved edge to the large area, yet instead of only large trees cutting it off from the rest of the forest…large boulders and rocks were surrounding a small circular patch as well – and was not surprised to see that the tent was almost completely up. Naruto smiled sadly…he couldn't out his finger on it, but something was upsetting him and before he could ponder it further he found himself feeling angry and hurt. What on earth was wrong with him? Shaking his head to rid himself of such emotions he realized that Sasuke was now finished the tent and stood gazing longingly at him before moving towards the blond and pulling him into an embrace. Naruto took a deep breath; fully relishing the scent of Sasuke, he wrapped his arms tightly around the taller man.

They could have stood there for hours and not realized, both were far too occupied with each other…just holding one another was enough to make the whole world vanish for eternity – it seemed. A small sniffling sound though, made the Uchiha spring from his unattainable height. He passed it off as something from further away in the woods or just his imagination…that is until it happened again, followed by a feeling of wetness on Sasuke's chest.

Naruto began to wonder why Sasuke's shirt seemed to be dampening. He kept feeling himself sniff and shudder, something ran through his mind that told him he was crying but he passed it off as illusionary; Naruto never cried, especially when he didn't have a reason to. Sighing gently to himself he buried his face further into the soft material of Sasuke's shirt – plain and a deep red colour, like blood, with the Uchiha symbol on the back – but he was pushed away abruptly. Naruto's head snapped up hastily and Sasuke's onyx eyes – deep with worry and laced with unsaid words – met his own cerulean pools - swimming with tears and red from those already shed.

Sasuke brought his hand up and gently caressed Naruto's smooth cheek, wiping away the tears that were trailing down his face. The blond boy didn't even understand why he was crying, he felt so sad and his urge to cry was tearing away at his self control. He barely managed to believe this was happening; it was like he couldn't control his feelings, almost as if they were not his at all. The emotions ran deeper than he could make sense of, although he wasn't hurt in a heart-broken and pained kind of way…he only felt the need to cry, the sadness seemed to be leaving him with every tear that hit the soft ground below.

"Naruto, what's the matter?" Sasuke asked; he didn't know what he had done wrong. He must have done something terrible though…to make Naruto cry like this. First Naruto had shouted at him when they first arrived, and now he was crying. Sasuke found himself wondering if the problem had started this morning – perhaps the reason Naruto had insisted on annoying Sasuke was so that he did not have to face him or talk to him…maybe it stretched beyond the morning, it could even have started last night. Then again, it hadn't been the first time something along the lines of last night had happened. Something seemed to click inside Sasuke's head and he finally knew why Naruto was crying…he was upset that Sasuke continued to come home upset; the Uchiha had already known that his dobe got sad when he came home like that. How had he managed to hurt his angel…why was he so stupid!

"I-it's fine. Really I don't e-even know why I'm crying…b-but the tears just won't stop coming." As soon as the sentence was completed a small piece of Naruto seemed to snap and his whole composure broke, he began shaking feverishly and the sobs no longer caught in his throat; he let them come and Sasuke could do nothing but watch in horror as his lover wept uncontrollably.

Sasuke no longer cared about the reasons behind this; all he cared abut was making his boyfriend feel better. Puling Naruto back into his arms he began running his hands up and down the blonde's back, whispering hushed nothings into the boys ear as his breathing evened out and he slowly started to catch himself. It took about ten minutes – of seeming alright for a moment and then throwing himself into Sasuke's arms and crying again – before the azure eyed angel finally stopped completely. The two had taken a seat and were now leaning against one of the smooth boulders to the side of their tent…well, more truthfully Sasuke was leaning against the rock with Naruto leaning against him; his body sat comfortably in between the Uchiha's legs, as his back rested on the raven's firm chest.

"God, I'm so sorry Sasuke, I just…I don't know what came over me really…I just couldn't stop it. I'm sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head in response.

"Don't apologize; as long as you're ok now then it's fine right? Just remember, if you want to talk to someone I'm here for you and if for some reason you can't come to me then Iruka will definitely listen and help you. You know he's like a father to you."

Naruto nodded back but didn't say anything. He had absolutely no intention of ever bringing this strange event up again; that's for sure. As far as the blond was concerned it did not even happen. He had however found it weird that nobody else had overheard his loud bawling. He figured they must have left already, to check out the area.

"Hey, Sasuke! I think everyone else left to check the place out…we should probably go catch up with them hehe."

"Sure dobe,"

* * *

The two made their way further down the path; it had been worn down by people walking here in the past, there was a soft sandy earth – a grey colour - that adorned the thin walkway. They turned left at the sound of running water and girls screeching. Sasuke was the first to begin moving towards the noises, Naruto only a few steps behind him…The Uchiha cleared a better way through the wilderness for his lover to go. Although there were no branches in the way – the trees had thick branches but not until much higher than the boy's heads – there were bushes and shrubs that frequently crowded the way.

Sasuke could see movement ahead and hastened his pace. Naruto was following his boyfriend quietly, intrigued by what could lay ahead of them when his attention was torn away from the raven by a butterfly as it flew slowly passed his face…It had extremely light blue wings with swirling lilac patterns on them, each wing's edge seemed a darker, deeper blue than the inner colour. Naruto found himself mesmerized and before he could comprehend what he was doing his boy seemed to move on its own; a ten hand reached out cautiously towards the creature almost afraid to startle the fragile insect. Before he knew it the winged beauty had perched itself on the tip of his index finger, its legs tickling the skin; the butterfly felt lighter than a feather.

"Come on dobe, they're just ahead of us now."

Naruto barely had time to register that he had been pulled away from the butterfly – which had instantly flown away from him with the sudden movement – and was now being led towards what looked like a lake behind the next tree. As the two boys stumbled out into an area free of trees both took the time to study the new surroundings…Directly in front of them, only a few steps ahead was a small lake – carved down into the earth like it had been created by human means, there was a clear distinction between the ground that they stood on and the waters bed - that narrowed considerably further down to their left and split into two small rivers that seemed to disappear into the forest. Following the lake to their right was a glorious waterfall; the water trickling heavily down protruding rocks. It was not a completely vertical waterfall but it was a very steep slop that the liquid was running down, it wasn't straight either as the larger rocks successfully dislodged the waters initial fall and made it fall to one side and then another. At the sides of the waterfall was a large cliff covered in ivy and other plants and extravagantly coloured flowers. It was amazing.

Naruto wondered if he had ever seen something so wonderful in his entire life…of all the places he had been. Sasuke was just as surprised at the sheer perfection and naturally exquisite excellence of the place.

Sakura sat at the edge of the dip; her legs swinging in the water. Ino was beside her – to the left - but did not have her legs in the liquid and instead had them bent close to her chest. To Sakura's right was Hinata who was also enjoying the feeling of calmly running water to her feet. The three were in a conversation yet again and the rest of their friends – including Iruka and Kakashi - were gathered round a tree nearer the waterfall. Naruto headed towards them as soon as he had caught his breath – since it had been taken away initially by the scene – leaving Sasuke where he was. Sasuke watched his lover walk away from him before turning his gaze back to the waterfall…where it hit the water there was a smooth lather gathering, like a bubble bath.

"It's nice here isn't it Sasuke?" a smooth voice came from his side. The Uchiha didn't need to look to see who the person was; he would recognize the voice of his former – lecherous – sensei any day.

"It is." Was his simple reply; he was in no mood to talk.

"What took you and Naruto so long to get here?" the tone in Kakashi's voice told of his perverted thoughts.

"Nothing, we just took longer to set up camp that is all."

"Of course, of course. Say, its been a while since you and I have spoken," he said casually, though both knew this wasn't true…being that they are both Anbu they see each other on a regular basis, though such meetings are strictly business. But Sasuke caught on to the meaning behind his words and indeed it had been a long time since the two had had a 'normal' conversation.

"Hn,"

"What made you agree to come here?"

"Naruto asked me. I don't like to say no to him too much."

Kakashi snickered at the reply; he knew this was not the real reason. He knew very well the troubles the Uchiha was having with his whole 'revive the clan' goal. The teacher thought it was none of his business to intervene, but Iruka had asked him to make sure they talked about it during this time away - Kakashi was weak when it came to Iruka…he could never say no - so he had agreed to mention it slyly and he was hoping the raven might open up to him and ask for advice. Though he truly doubted that would ever happen.

"Well, I came because it's a holiday and more time to spend with my dolphin-chan." Perhaps if Sasuke knew what was happening between him and Iruka it would be easier for him to talk about himself and Naruto?

"I know. Why else would you drag yourself out here if not to perv on your secret boyfriend?"

Kakashi's visible eye widened a fraction; how had Sasuke figured it out? Just as he was about to ask, Sasuke seemed to read his mind…

"It's completely obvious you do realize? I'm not even sure why you bother keeping it a secret."

"Neither am I," he sighed "Iruka insists that we don't tell anybody so I haven't but…"

"You want people to know he's yours."

"Yes, Sasuke I do. No matter what I say though he keeps refusing. I don't know what to do to make him see that I hate this. Not the relationship I mean,"

"The secrets?"

"Yes."

"Just tell him that you're insecure with him not wanting people to know about your relationship and explain that it's making you feel uncomfortable." Sasuke finished before heading over to the group of chatting guys. He wrapped his arms around his dobe's waist and rested his head on the smaller boy's shoulder. Naruto smiled slightly before retorting sarcastically to something smug Kiba had said and Sasuke smirked; hiding his own smile…nobody could see him smile but Naruto, nobody could make him smile but Naruto.

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and sighed deeply. Wasn't he over here to give Sasuke advice, not receive it? How was he supposed to help Sasuke with his problems if he couldn't even sort out his own? Together with the fact that Sasuke seemed to know much more about relationships than Kakashi, and things were not looking up for the silver haired ninja.

The group enjoyed the scenery for a few more minutes – about forty five long minutes actually – before heading back to camp; it had become darker and was now about half past ten at night. They didn't bother to set a camp fire when they reached the site…deeming it too bothersome considering they were only going straight to bed; their sleepiness from the journey winning over the desire to stay up later. Mostly everybody shared a tent with their partner, bar Ino who had a small tent to herself…of course, not all the teenagers knew about Kakashi and Iruka's relationship – the only ones being Sasuke and Hinata; she had overheard their conversation on the way there - so most thought nothing of them sharing a tent. Each pair retreated to their beds after whispering small 'goodnight's to the rest of the party.

* * *

**Once again, lemon links on my profile =). I hope you guys are enjoying the story Xx..xX**


	4. Camping: day two

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Sasuke groaned and buried himself further under the warmth currently surrounding him. He could hear laughter…it was faint, but with every passing moment it grew louder and louder. He opened his eyes to find a pair of silky black boxers lay inches from his face, thoughts of last night came rushing back to him and he smiled; today would be a good day, he thought. Sighing, the raven turned over – onto his back – and stretched before forcing himself out of bed; the sleeping bag that is. The tent was empty and Sasuke guessed that Naruto had woken earlier - as always - and was with the others outside...he was probably the one making the most noise. The raven couldn't tell if the people laughing hysterically were Naruto and Kiba or Naruto and Lee. Nevertheless he continued to pull a set of clothes out of his rucksack and dress himself for the day ahead.

He chose a pair of loose white shorts, along with a loose black t-shirt; complete with the usual Uchiha symbol on the back. He didn't bother putting shoes on and headed outside – after making sure he looked alright – to discover who had woken him up. As he stepped through the zip of the tent he first noticed the raging heat…it would likely be another heat wave like it had been the other day. Sasuke didn't like being hot, he preferred coldness; it wasn't as uncomfortable and you could wrap yourself in extra clothing; when in warmth you could only remove your clothing and then you were restricted to how much you could take off before being naked.

The second thing he noticed was that it had been Naruto and Lee who had been laughing. Situated in the centre of the area, surrounded by tents, were four of his friends; Naruto, Kiba, Lee and Ino all sat together on a large purple blanket. Naruto was currently sprawled out on his back – he was wearing nothing but a pair of orange cargo shorts…they reached his calf and seemed a few sizes larger than they should be – and was rolling around bawling with laughter; his eyes were watering and he looked like he was struggling to breathe. Lee was also laughing, but not to the extent that Naruto was. Kiba seemed extremely embarrassed and when Sasuke looked twice he noticed that Ino was in fact giggling along – although silently - with the other two idiots.

Sasuke shook his head and progressed towards them…after noticing his presence Naruto straightened himself and immediately grinned happily. "Heya, sleepy head! God, do you know what time it is?" he attempted to sound irritated, but Sasuke could see through his charade. "Hn," was his simple reply before he settled himself down onto the blanket next to his boyfriend.

"Saaaaasuke. You should have been up earlier; we've been up for ages!"

"Why, dobe? We're on holiday."

"Because then you wouldn't be wasting the time off!"

"…"

"Well?"

"Tch, Naruto you're so dense. What's happening today?"

"Huh?"

The other three who lay on the blanket began to snicker at the bickering going on between the two lovers. Realizing that Naruto was not going to answer; Lee decided to speak up for his blond friend and answer Sasuke's question…"Today we are going swimming! It is such a beautiful day; a day meant for splashing in the waves of youth. Such is the-" The youthful teen's speech was cut short as an angry voice bellowed from inside one of the nearby tents.

"Lee! What have I told you about rambling on about youth?!" It was unmistakably Sakura's voice. Lee shut his mouth instantly and his eyes fell to the floor. Naruto almost felt sorry for the guy…Sakura could be so demanding and when it came to Lee, he really didn't have much to say in the relationship; though he knew the boy was happy and that was all that mattered to the blond.

"We didn't bring swimming suits, Lee. How can we go swimming without suits?" Sakura asked as she emerged from her tent, her body was wrapped in a thin yellow dress with pink flowers on it. Behind her was Hinata Hyuuga, dressed much the same as Sakura; her dress was blue. Though there was the unmistakably large bump that made the flamingo haired kunoichi stand out.

"Sakura-chan, why not just wear underwear…it's basically the same thing as a bikini isn't it?" Naruto piped up, earning curious glances from the three girls before they smiled sweetly.

"Gosh, Naruto. You're right" Ino said before she stood up and rushed into her tent to 'get ready', the other girls merely turned around and re-entered the tent they had previously been in. Kiba sat stunned for a moment before mumbling under his breath "That's not fair…I would have got slapped if I'd said that." To which Sasuke snorted, though he was the only one who had heard the dog lover.

"Well I'm just gonna wear this." Naruto patted his shorts before turning to Sasuke with a curious look adorning his whiskered face.

"I'll take my top off when we get there." The stoic boy gave his answer in an uninterested tone.

Lee - who was wearing his green suit like usual – retreated into his tent to change into something a little more appropriate.

Kiba quickly stated that he would do the same as Sasuke. Something seemed to remind Naruto of his father-figure and Kakashi as Sasuke moved closer to him…he told Sasuke quickly that he was going to get the two from their tent and before his stoic boyfriend had time to argue the blond was away. The tent the two sensei's were occupying was a red colour…slightly orange but darker and it was a little bit away from the other tents; slightly like Naruto and Sasuke's but farther. Naruto approached with out caution and immediately burst through the open zipper. The scene that awaited him was shocking – to say the least - for the oblivious blond boy.

* * *

Iruka squirmed slightly under the touch of the silver haired Jounin. He felt smoldering hot – despite the fact that both men were only wearing underwear - and he couldn't stop the pants gasping from his throat. He faintly felt bad for keeping their relationship a secret but he really wasn't ready for the world to know…he had only recently discovered his feelings anyway; there was no need to rush. The Chuunin hissed as he felt his boyfriend bite into his neck, but the pain was quickly replaced with pleasure as Kakashi sucked and licked at the mark he had made. Iruka couldn't hold in a giggle though, when Kakashi ran his hands up and down the smaller mans sides; it tickled. That was when he took the time to push the silver haired Jounin off of himself and sat up straight only to see Naruto – looking rather shocked and lost for words – staring wide-eyed at the two from the entrance.

"Oh, shit. Naruto!" he yelled desperately.

"I-I…I um…came to…uh…tell you that we're all…um…we're all going to the river to swim so you guys should get ready and…and meet us out there as soon as you can." Naruto stuttered out before disappearing back through the zipper. As soon as Naruto was gone all the colour in Iruka's face seemed to drain. Kakashi waited for the explosion but when none came he grew worried…shuffling closer to his dolphin-chan once again he was surprised that the man flinched slightly before jumping to his feet and hurrying to get ready. A pain made itself known in the Jounin's chest; Iruka had flinched. Kakashi had only inched closer slightly and his boyfriend had actually flinched. He frowned before storming out of the tent – pained again when Iruka showed him no reaction and completely ignored the silver haired man's actions.

* * *

"Ne, Sasuke?" Naruto began as he slowed his pace to walk with the raven. The rest of the group – everyone was there – were ahead of the couple now; all on the way to the river. "I-is there something going on between Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei?"

Sasuke chuckled a little…"What makes you ask me that?" he smiled at the boy beside him as the blond blushed considerably whilst thinking of a good way to explain what he had seen without freaking his lover out too much.

Naruto cleared his throat before he started. "When I went to tell them about coming here…they were kinda in the middle of…things." Naruto stopped his explanation there but it seemed Sasuke was not taking the hint.

"…sexual things," he elaborated.

"Oh? Then I guess there's no harm in telling you; they are boyfriends."

"What?!" Naruto yelled, frowning at the thought _'why didn't Iruka-sensei tell me about this?' _

"Yes. I don't know how long it's been going on for, but…Iruka seems to be a very private person and so he refuses to tell anybody of their relationship."

"But…why would Iruka-sensei not want people to know. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Sasuke merely nodded in response – it made sense to him; he could see that Iruka was obviously afraid of people's reactions. But although Sasuke knew what the man was feeling he had absolutely no idea why…the Uchiha had never been concerned with the thoughts of others – he took Naruto's hand in his and pulled the smaller boy to a stop. He kissed the jinchuuriki lightly before whispering that everything would work out for their teachers. If not then it was never meant to be. Naruto smiled at his boyfriends sweet gesture and resumed walking – his hand still linked with Sasuke's – towards their destination.

A few steps ahead of the teens, was Kakashi, he watched the ground with each step he took. He was feeling extremely down after what had happened at the tent; Iruka had acted as though he really didn't care about what the silver haired Jounin thought or felt. _'Then again, perhaps he doesn't care. Maybe I got this all wrong.' _The man thought solemnly _'I was always bugging him about my feelings and maybe…maybe he just said yes because he wanted me to stop bothering him. That's probably the reason; it would explain all his strange behavior.'_ Kakashi sighed at the thought; he would need to finish with his dolphin if that was the case; there was no way he could go on knowing that the man he loved truly did not love him back. He peered to his right, passed the two girls – Sakura and Ino - between him and his boyfriend, and took a long look at the man; he seemed lost in thought.

Iruka watched the trees as they passed with glazed eyes. He tried to navigate his thoughts away from a certain masked man. But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried Kakashi kept creeping into his head. He had been awfully harsh to the silver-haired man this morning; Iruka was aware of this. He was scared now though. What if Naruto told people about the relationship? What would the others say? What would his friends think? Iruka could not comprehend how that situation would turn out.

He did not want people to hate him because of his sexual orientation. This worried him even more now that his 'son' had seen him with Kakashi. He knew the blond would not see reason to keep the matter secret. And how could Iruka possibly explain to Naruto – who was obviously gay, himself – that he was afraid of negative reactions to his sexual preference. There was no way Naruto would understand unless he told him straightly…'some people don't like people like us…some people will hate me because I love another man'…yeh, cause he could really see that going well. Naruto would definitely take offence if he came out with something like that. The last thing he wanted to do was upset the blond.

Iruka shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. _'Why can't our relationship be perfect like Naruto and Sasuke's? Well…as close to perfect as you can get.' _To make matters worse for the emotional Iruka; he knew it was entirely his fault. He was the one being difficult and he was the one being cold. To be honest he was rather ashamed of himself…what must Kakashi think? Kakashi…who really was a good guy; even in all his perverseness.

* * *

"Ahhhhh!" Hinata screamed as Ino splashed water over her dainty form. The two girls were having a war to see who could splash the other more. At the moment Ino was definitely winning; Hinata barely managed to stop screaming as she held her arms up to shield her face from the cool water.

Sakura giggled at the scene…she was at the side of the river; watching all her friends play. Lee was with her – at her back with his arms around her bloated belly – and was also laughing, but not at the girls. Lee was laughing at another event that was taking place further down the bank.

Sasuke stood gazing at the sky. His boyfriend had insisted that he enter the water but he had refused persistently. Naruto would not give up though and even though the raven wasn't sure of the boy's whereabouts, he knew the blond was up to no good; he never was. The sun was shining brightly and Sasuke was glad he wasn't wearing much, even with his t-shirt still on. He knew he would be cooler if he went into the river but he was too stubborn. It was childish to play around like that.

He turned his gaze to the water again and found that Kiba was in there…and he was talking with Kakashi. Iruka was there too but he seemed distracted and was standing further away from everyone. Sasuke vaguely realized that Naruto was usually with Kiba when he wasn't with the Uchiha. As soon as the thought passed through his mind, however, it was gone and replaced by shock as a force made contact with his back. The push sent him stumbling forwards and he tumbled into the water; thoroughly annoyed. Once he gained his composure he turned sharply to the culprit to come face-to-face with a half-naked-and-wet Naruto. He almost drooled, but controlled himself.

As soon as reality hit him he sent a death glare to his boyfriend who grinned sheepishly before running towards the water. Sasuke knew immediately what was coming. And he didn't want it. "No! Naruto stop! Don't do…" But it was too late as the boy jumped into the air before curling into a ball and hitting the water – precisely in front of Sasuke - with a crash. He caused waves of water to flow over the rest of the occupants before he surfaced to see his boyfriend; Sasuke. Who looked extremely pissed off and irritated. The Uchiha swore he would murder Naruto one day. The blond took time to survey his lover as he smiled sheepishly at the boy…The raven hair that usually spiked up behind his head was dripping wet and clinging to his head; the weight of the water caused his hair to hang at his neck as water dribbled down his face and chest. The spring water gathered around his torso, exposing his upper chest – clad in a wet t-shirt that gripped at his lean body - to the warm air.

The one thing that distracted the blond from studying the Uchiha was the laughing that was coming from Rock Lee at the side of the river…he had been watching the entire thing and Naruto grinned at his achievement. As soon as Sasuke saw the grin he seemed to snap. Stripping himself of his t-shirt and tossing the garment out of the river, he tossed himself at his boyfriend and tackled the blond under the water as they began one of their regular 'spars' though both would admit that they never really went all out on the other any more. It was mostly just playful.

Iruka watched the ripples running through the water from the ruckus ahead of him. He could hear the yells coming from each of the boys who were fighting and the screeching resonating through the area from Ino and Hinata. He could even hear the voices of the men talking right next to him. But he wasn't paying attention. He was thinking – yet again – about the situation concerning Kakashi and Naruto.

He had made a decision and would talk to the blond immediately. He hoped to god that the knucklehead understood without things becoming difficult. Disregarding the sprawl that the boy was in with his boyfriend, Iruka trudged through the water until he got to the flailing teens.

"Naruto."

Both boys stopped to look at the person whose voice they had just heard. Seeing Iruka, the couple looked at each other as if confirming that it was their former sensei before looking curiously back at the man.

"I need to talk with you please"

"Um, ok." He replied and after sending Sasuke a confused gaze he got out of the water and followed his father figure as the older man lead him a little into the woods. He stopped when they reached a small patch with a large log to sit on…both could still hear the noises coming from the river as they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So um, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Naruto asked, blushing slightly and averting his gaze as he remembered what he had seen hours before.

"About Kakashi and me," he replied with a serious look on his face…

"I don't want you to tell anyone what you saw. I'd prefer it if word didn't get around. And also…I'm sorry you had to see that, heh."

"Oh, it's ok Iruka-sensei. I wouldn't tell anyone anyways, that's you're business! But why won't you tell people…I though you would have told me when you guys started dating."

"Well…it's complicated."

Naruto only stared dumbly at the other _'how on earth is it complicated? I wonder if there's something wrong with them'_ Naruto immediately looked worried and Iruka noticed. He sighed; this was going to be harder than he had hoped.

"I'm not comfortable with people knowing that I'm in a relationship with Kakashi…"

"Cause' he's a pervert?"

"No,"

"Cause' he's lazy?"

"No,"

"Cause' he's always acting so cool?"

"No"

Naruto gasped, "Don't tell me it's cause he's bad in bed?"

Iruka's face glowed bright red at the remark and he immediately answered "Of course not!"

Naruto started looking confused…he obviously was running out of bad points about his former sensei.

"Cause' of that rivalry between him and Gai?"

"No, Naruto look its nothing like that really..."

"Is it cause' you're embarrassed of him?"

When Naruto's answer was silence, he frowned…did that mean yes?

"It's not that I'm embarrassed of him. It's just…" He was desperately hoping that the blond would get his point soon so that he wouldn't have to spell it out. Naruto blinked a few times and tilted his head to the side…he really didn't understand.

"It's because he's another guy, Naruto."

Iruka worried momentarily that Naruto would be offended by the comment but it passed when he saw Naruto tilt his head to the other side and lift an eyebrow.

"Ehhhh? I don't get it Iruka-sensei."

The Chuunin sighed and closed his eyes; he was digging a hole…

"I just don't know if I am comfortable with people knowing that I'm gay." …a big hole.

"Why not?"

"Because I just realized it myself and I'm a little insecure about people disliking me because of it."

"Why would they dislike you because you didn't know you were gay?"

"No, people will dislike me because I am gay."

"Why?"

"Because some people don't like people like us."

"But why not?"

"Because they are idiots!"

"They can't be Idiots…if they were idiots then you wouldn't care what they think."

Iruka was caught of guard. He hadn't expected such a thing from Naruto. But he knew those words were true. He couldn't explain to the blond why he cared…He knew Naruto cared what people thought of him; that's why he had always desperately wanted to be Hokage. That was the reason he hadn't wanted to explain this topic to the jinchuuriki.

"Because I don't want people hating me. Please understand Naruto; a lot of people don't like gay couples…especially guys."

"So?"

"What do you mean so?! How can you sit there and say that, I know you care about what people think of you!"

"Yeh, I do care about what people think. I still don't get your point though…people don't hate me and Sasuke."

"Yes they do! They just don't show it!" As soon as the words left Iruka's mouth, he immediately wanted to take them back. He watched Naruto closely and could tell by the look on the boys face that he was not happy. _'Oh, shit. I've upset him now. God, Iruka, you fool! Look what you've done to Naruto. But why doesn't he look sad? He doesn't look happy but he doesn't look sad; he looks annoyed. Why would Naruto look annoyed now?' _

"Look. Iruka. I think you need to calm down." He said in a soft voice, caring and seemingly sweet.

"I am cal-"

"Would you please just shut the fuck up a minute?" Naruto growled out through clenched teeth, a calm expression on his whiskered face. The blond was mad, really angry at what Iruka had said…as if the boy didn't know that people didn't like his relationship. He did not need to be told - by someone who he looked to as a father no less - just how horrible and unacceptable his sexual orientation was. He was quite aware, though he really didn't have a clue why he was bubbling with anger at the statement. He would never usually get so aggravated over something so small. He pushed the thought aside though; he was far to irritated to care. Iruka promptly shut his mouth; not once in his whole life had he ever seen Naruto act this way…it was as if he was a whole different person.

"People hate me. People hate you. People hate Sasuke. People hate Kakashi. People hate Sakura. A god damn lot of people hate Kiba! I hate people. You hate people. Everyone hates people for different reasons. If someone hates me for having Kyuubi inside of me, I'll admit I care…it hurts to be hated for something you cannot control. If someone hates me for being in love with another guy, I'll admit I care…because it hurts to be hated for something you can't control. But people will hate me whether I'm gay or not so why the hell should I think about it so god damn much that it starts to ruin my relationship with someone I care about. That's stupid and I would only get hurt more in the process!"

Naruto took a shaky breath, he had not breathed through the entire lecture. His face was red and he looked really pissed off. Iruka just stared at him; everything he said made perfect sense…he had only come here to tell Naruto to keep his mouth closed and yet now he was seriously questioning his sanity. How could he have been so stupid? He would need to talk with Kakashi later and explain that he thought they should start telling people. Their friends first, then perhaps just let things happen. He smiled, it felt good to finally let go of all the hiding, and he could practically feel the relief flushing through his body.

Iruka smiled pulled Naruto into a hug. The blond still seemed aggravated so he rubbed the boys back while admitting that he was right and he thanked him for the great advice. Naruto nodded before silently getting up and heading back to the water.

* * *

For the rest of the afternoon the group splashed around in the river. Sasuke stayed at the side mostly, with his lover in his arms. Naruto hadn't spoken a word since he returned from the woods with Iruka. As soon as the blond came back he went straight into the water and leaned against the side. Sasuke hadn't taken long to approach him and when he did he was ignored for several minutes before the younger boy pushed him between himself and the side – where Naruto had been moments before – and used him to lean on instead.

They had stayed like that for a few hours now…not that Sasuke minded; this was exactly the kind of things he liked to do with Naruto. Just lay together, peacefully. He was worried about the blonde's health though…after the tears yesterday and now this silence.

The two watched as their friends continued to splash around. Hinata, Ino, Kiba and Lee were fighting in the water; Lee held Ino atop his shoulder as Kiba did the same to Hinata. They navigated through the splashing water while the girls clung onto each other – both trying to get the other to fall. It was a funny scene to watch. Iruka and Sakura were standing just meters from the couple and were engrossed in baby talk. Kakashi however, was no where in sight. Sasuke paid the latter no mind at all, why should he care where the guy was. What he did care about however was the chills that were rolling around his body; it had cooled down now that it was evening and everyone seemed to notice. The water was turning feverishly cold.

Considering that Naruto might be feeling the temperature also, Sasuke wrapped his arms tighter around the blond, resting his head on the jinchuuriki's shoulder as he whispered in his ear. "Are you cold?" The raven waited a moment, hoping for an answer but at the same time not expecting one…it really was strange the way Naruto was acting though. He sighed and buried his face in the crook of his boyfriend's neck; Naruto's fluffy blond hair tickled his cheek slightly. Both teens' upper bodies had completely dried since they had not been submerged for hours.

An ear piercing screech echoed through the area before a blonde flash hit the water with a splash. Lee - who had been holding the girl - also ended up being pulled under by the force. Hinata smiled in victory before being dipped back into the flowing river. Ino emerged from the liquid and immediately began shivering, complaining that it was 'sooooo cooooold' before she scrambled out of the river and sat at the edge. Hinata also shivered slightly – must have been because they had been out of the water so long they hadn't realized the change in temperature – and clung onto Kiba.

Lee re-appeared right next to Sakura, to the girls shock. He picked her up and carried her out of the water. Seeing that everyone was leaving, Sasuke gently gave a squeeze to his lover and began getting out of the lake also. Naruto followed behind to see that Iruka was already out as well.

"Well, guys looks like we should go now since it's later, not to mention colder. Plus I'm starved!" Kiba yelled from behind as he helped his girl out of the water.

"Yosh! Let us head back to camp my youthful friends!" Lee promptly agreed and burst happily into the woods. The rest followed at a slower pace, Sasuke and Naruto walked last - since the Uchiha had needed to pick up his top - with their fingers laced together. All were extremely worn out – with the exception of Sasuke, Iruka and Kakashi, wherever he was – and tired from their strenuous activities…well, not all were tired because of that. Naruto was absolutely shattered. On top of that he didn't feel like talking to anyone. He just wanted to wallow and then sleep. Sleep a long, long time if he could. Kakashi appeared beside Iruka with a 'poof' and a cloud of smoke. Iruka did not say anything but he smiled slightly… though Kakashi did not see it.

* * *

Naruto stared at the fire as it flickered and cascaded light into the dark camping area they were all sitting in. The group was currently around the fire that had been made a while ago to cook upon and serve as a light, calmly eating their food. Silence had consumed them for the moment but Naruto knew he was getting a few worried looks sent his way – no doubt from his boyfriend – and no doubt it was because he had not touched the food in front of him at all.

Sasuke sighed as he continued devouring his meal. He genuinely had no idea what was wrong with his blond and that annoyed him greatly. He put down the stick that his food had been on a moment before. Turning to look at Naruto he whispered lightly so that only the boy could hear.

"Do you want to go to bed now?"

He received only a nod in return before the Jinchuuriki stood up and walked into his tent. Sasuke muttered 'goodnight's to everyone and a 'thank you' to Hinata for cooking the food on the open fire.

"Hey does anyone know what's wrong with Naruto?" Sakura questioned as soon as she heard the zip being closed to the boys' tent. Everyone just shook their heads numbly and finished eating before they all retreated to their own tents for the night; it seemed the days activities had worn everyone out beyond belief.

As the group fell asleep in silence, each seemed to be hoping for something better than they had…

Iruka was wishing he could sort everything that had happened that morning with Kakashi out, as was his boyfriend who lay with his back pressed against the Chuunin's, though Kakashi had a feeling the two would not be a couple for much longer and he also hoped he was wrong…

Hinata and Kiba were wishing that her family would never find out about them and ruin their relationship. They wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, yet knew – painfully - that it was not possible due to her status…

Lee was hoping that his soon-to-be-born child would pop out soon so that he could start teaching the baby about all the wonders of youth that his wondrous sensei Gai had told him. While Sakura was wishing the same thing, for different reasons; she just couldn't wait to hold the bumble of joy within her arms and watch lovingly as her child grew up...

Sasuke was wishing that he knew what was wrong with his partner. He detested not knowing things and wanted so much to be able to read the blonde's mind. Naruto was only wishing he could figure out what was wrong with him. His newly confused emotions were a pain in the ass for the boy...

Ino was already asleep and dreamed of a day when she too would be happily in love like all her friends seemed to be.

Nobody knew what the next day would have in store for them. All they could do was wait until morning and hope above all that their dreams would come true.

* * *

**Gosh! That chapter was really hard to write, especially the ending. I'm not sure why but I took so much longer than usual and I apologies hehe and again, like always…I hope you enjoyed Xx..xX**


	5. Camping: day three

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

A loud yawn was emitted from the blond as he rolled over and onto the chest of a certain raven. He smiled. Naruto was feeling a lot better today. He opened his large cerulean eyes to look into the face of a sleeping Sasuke. He snuggled into his lover…a peaceful sigh coming from him. Today he wanted to spend more time with his boyfriend. He concluded that he would need to apologize for the previous day though; his behavior had indeed been strange.

The jinchuuriki smirked and decided – rather promptly - that he would not leave the tent without his 'teme' today. He giggled slightly as he started running his hands up and down the other boys chest; attempting to tickle the teen but he wasn't succeeding. Trying a different approach, the blue eyed boy climbed completely on top of his boyfriend – careful not to wake him just yet – and leaned forward ever so slowly to claim his soft lips. Naruto wasn't surprised when the Uchiha's lips quickly responded to his touch; this was not the first time he had kissed a sleeping Sasuke. He was surprised however, when Sasuke's hands grabbed onto his sides tightly before pushing the blond over and landing on top of the startled boy…their lips never breaking contact.

Naruto mumbled a few words into his – fully awake and smirking – lover's mouth. Sasuke pulled back and his smirk increased. The boy beneath him simply huffed and pouted, turning his head away from the attractive male.

"Teme, I thought you were asleep." He groaned as moist lips latched onto his neck. The raven growled in reply as he bit into the flesh at his lips, causing a yelp from his boyfriend who subsequently pushed the Uchiha off of him. Climbing to his feet, Naruto stumbled to his bag in search of clothing for the day. Sasuke followed the jinchuuriki's actions and also began to dress himself. Though first he made his way to the zip of the tent; opening it slightly to judge the weather…it was warm, like the previous day but would probably not reach the sweltering heat they had been blessed with yesterday. The Uchiha was happy for that and he began looking for comfortable clothes.

He chose a dark blue tank top – it was slightly clingy but not to the point that people could see each muscle on his body – as well as a loose pair of denim jeans – they were dark also, nearly black – he slipped on a pair of white trainers – since none of them were on ninja duty they all wore casual clothes…footwear included since standard ninja shoes were not extremely comfortable, or stylish – before turning to Naruto and recommending that he actually puts on a shirt today.

Naruto snorted at the comment. He was already fully dressed; orange tracksuit bottoms that gathered nicely at the ends and tucked into his shoes – also trainers like Sasuke's but with a larger tongue and a red swirl design at the sides – on top he wore a light orange t-shirt that had a large dark orange swirl on the front - the top was extremely baggy and long, it came down to slightly above his ass and the 'short' sleeves came down to his elbows.

Sasuke watched as his gorgeous blond waltzed past him and exited the tent; fully prepared to wake his friends. The last Uchiha smiled to himself…_'gods, Naruto looks so cute. Maybe I'll get more time with him today,' _he mused as he quickly tidied their tent before also leaving.

As he zipped the tent up Sasuke realized that his bright ball of sunshine seemed to have vanished from sight. His coal black orbs scouted the area for a moment before he heard some form of mumbling coming from a yellow single tent; Ino's. He chose to ignore the voices and continue looking for Naruto.

* * *

"Oh my gosh! I heard they have loads of shops there!" Ino squealed enthusiastically.

"Yes th-they do. Tenten went once and told me all about it but I haven't had a ch-chance to go." Hinata's soft voice spoke timidly.

"Well we like totally have to go there now! Well…after breakfast. I mean it's less than 10 miles away and we can get there and back before eight o'clock tonight." Sakura's face lit up at her own idea.

"That's a great idea! Let's go and see who else wants to come! I hope Naruto comes! I need to get him a new wardrobe! You know; one that doesn't consist of mostly orange!" Ino blinked a few times…imagining Naruto wearing black and blue, like Sasuke does…she quickly shook her head at the idea; his hair would not go well with dark colours.

"I-I'll go and wake Kiba, maybe he will come." Hinata was just about to leave when the two remaining girls nearly screamed at her.

"No, no, no! Hinata! You can't take a boy shopping. And he won't want to come; shopping is a girl's thing!" Ino practically screeched, causing the shy Hyuuga to wince at her friends tone. Though she was saved rather soon as Sakura burst into a fit of laughter at her best friend's stupidity. It seems Ino had conveniently forgotten that Naruto was – in fact – a boy.

"Ino! Hahaha! You are hi-hilarious!! Naruto's a boy hahahahaha…doesn't that mean that he won't want to…to come?" Sakura stopped after that sentence and attempted to contain her giggles; she was failing completely. Ino just sighed and began explaining that Naruto was different because he was the submissive one in his and Sasuke's relationship. Meanwhile Sakura's laughter only seemed to grow worse and worse as the blonde continued with her - highly stereotypical - view on ukes. Hinata disappeared from the tent to find Kiba, bumping into a certain raven haired male on her way.

"Oh! H-hello Sasuke-kun."

"Hn…have you seen Naruto?" Sasuke had spent the last five minutes looking for his boyfriend when he had begun checking the tents. He had been on his way to Ino's since he had heard the jinchuuriki's name being spoken – rather loudly - from that direction.

"I haven't but he will probably be with Kiba-kun," she answered softly "I'm going to Kiba's tent so you sh-should come too." Sasuke merely nodded in response and followed the Hyuuga towards her tent.

Sure enough as they approached the Raven's ears picked up on his lover's voice which was joined by a voice belonging to Kiba Inuzuka. The two had been discussing the reason why Akamaru had not been with his owner on this holiday; since the dog was always with his handler. It seems that Akamaru had been sick – and in no condition to leave home - for a while now but Kiba had been keeping it a secret. Right now he was expressing how worried he was about the health of his dog to the blond as their two significant others approached, unnoticed.

"I really wanna enjoy myself you know. And I am! But…but I'm just so worried about my boy! If something happens to him while I'm off having fun I'll never forgive myself. Not ever!" Kiba's face by now was marked by tears and his eyes were swollen red. He had waited until Hinata had left this morning before he had broken down…Naruto had found him like that and although he wanted to go back to his bastard he couldn't bring himself to leave a friend in this state.

The two were perched on a log behind the tent – a green, sickly colour and small, but big enough to hide both of them from the other tents – and Kiba was crying into Naruto's chest as the blond attempted to consol him and cheer him up a little.

"Hush, Kiba. Please don't worry about him…everything will be fine! Believe it, Akamaru is strong and is not gunna go leaving you anytime soon so just stop crying like a little baby and have fun!"

His reply was a small sniff as Kiba withdrew himself from Naruto's – now soaked from tears – shirt, to look up at his friend with watery eyes while he wiped at the wetness on his cheeks. Naruto giggled. "Kiba you're makeup is running;" the two red triangles which adorned the dog lover's face had been drowned in the salty liquid and were now smudged along his cheeks. Kiba abruptly straightened up and scowled at the boy's choice of words, it was then that he noticed the visitors who were eying the scene with curiosity - Sasuke and Hinata.

All his blood rushed to his face and he attempted to hide himself behind Naruto, but that only caused a thin blond eyebrow to be raised before the jinchuuriki turned around to face the intruders. He smiled happily at the sight of his boyfriend – every time he set his eyes upon the dark male his day seemed to brighten – and a surprised Sasuke instantly found himself with a handful of blond; Naruto sprung into the raven's arms and wrapped his legs and arms around the taller boy. The Uchiha groaned at the weight and – albeit slightly reluctant to break the body contact - pushed the blond off of himself. Though he kept a strong hold on his lover's hand as they turned their attention back to their friends who were now looking much better; Kiba had contained his emotions and was now assuring his girlfriend that he was absolutely fine whilst Hinata doted on him. Both spectators seemed to silently agree that they were intruding now and hastily left in the direction of the other tents.

"Naruto!" Ino beamed as she saw him and his boyfriend walk back onto the centre of their camp.

"I've been looking all over for you! We're going shopping; Me, Sakura, Hinata and Iruka. Come with us Naruto?!"

Naruto gave the two teens standing in front of him; Ino and Sakura, a disbelieving look before his body started to tremble as he held in his hysterics. It didn't take long, however, before he was rolling on the ground gasping for breath between statements – stuttered through his laughter - like 'who…the h-hell…would want to go…go shopping?...Ever?' and 'As if I'd…wanna go sh-shopping…that's for women to do!'

"See Ino, I told you he wouldn't want to come!" Sakura yelled at an angered Ino. The blonde haired kunoichi was close to loosing her mind; she despised being wrong. Being wrong was something this girl could not handle. She was about to jump on Naruto with killing intention for ruining her 'correct' ideals, but was quickly dragged away by Sakura and the two disappeared to collect Iruka from his own tent.

* * *

"See you later!" Sakura yelled as they disappeared into the forest. It turns out neither Kiba nor Lee wanted to go with the girls, but poor Lee was dragged ruthlessly by his girlfriend; so Ino, Hinata, Sakura and Iruka left with a groaning Rock Lee. Leaving only boys behind to occupy themselves.

"So…Whatcha wanna do?" Kiba said as he stretched himself out on the blanket. They had laid one out like they had yesterday and now all sat on it. The only couple left was Naruto and Sasuke who sat against a rock; Sasuke leaning up against it while the blond sat between his legs.

"Hey. We've got drink right…like beer and stuff?" Naruto asked, a thought entering his head. Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment before going to speak, when he was cut off by Kakashi…

"We have beer and Vodka. We also have some sake, but not much. I've got tequila also…but it's mine! Though, I will need to talk about this with Iruka because he will not approve of underage drinking. None of you guys are over twenty yet."

"How much?" Sasuke questioned; not that he was interested at all. He was merely asking for Naruto's sake.

"Hmm…there's five one liter bottles of vodka. Beer, well…we've got three crates of twenty four of Asahi…Um, and two crates of 12 Kirin Ichiban. As for sake, I'm not very sure but I think it's something like…ten bottles of Kubota Manjyu, I'm not entirely sure though…it could be more."

"Jeez! How the hell did you manage to carry all that shit here?!" Kiba asked with his eyes wide. He was not the only one to look surprised; all that drink must have been heavy.

"Well…Me and Iruka carried it, heh. I told him it was all for me and he seemed to buy that." Kakashi's visible eye closed as he smiled…the rest still seemed startled at just how much beverage there was. That much alcohol would certainly last them at least two parties. Naruto quickly remembered why he had asked about drink; he wanted a party tonight.

"Let's drink some tonight. We can have, like, a mini party or something. Then we can drink the leftovers in a few days time. Come on it'd be really fun! And we have plenty drink too."

"I think it is a good idea…" Kakashi pondered from his position next to Kiba. "Hell yeah! Let's go for it!" was Kiba's version of agreeing. The boys agreed they would start drinking at around half past six…not long before the girls would return. And each broke off into a separate conversation. Kiba and Kakashi began a heated debate about Taijutsu and Juuken; both boys expressing their beliefs that taijutsu is the better of the two. While Naruto and Sasuke lay together talking about all they could think of…though mostly the talking was on the blonde's part, while Sasuke merely gave an opinion whenever he felt it necessary.

Naruto stood up after a long while of sitting with Sasuke. The blond turned to face his boyfriend – a hand held out for the dark boy to take - before he said "let's go for a walk," and with such a beautiful, serene smile placed upon his lips, the Uchiha was rendered unable to say no.

The two headed deeper into the woods. Not caring to mention that they were leaving. They would likely be back before the girls.

* * *

"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed, upon their arrival at the small village.

"There really are a lot of shops huh?"

The five-some headed further into the crowded area and immediately began rushing into surrounding shops…each finding items to their own interest. Ino started off by running into a large shopping market selling fashion items; clothing, jewelry, make up. Sakura followed her best friend closely and dragged Rock lee into the market place also. Leaving Iruka and Hinata out on the street to wander into smaller, less populated areas.

"Hey Iruka, a-are you feeling alright?" she asked quietly; sensing that there was something bothering the other man.

"Oh, no Hinata I'm fine…perfectly fine. Let's head in there it looks like it has some good equipment." The brunette spoke as he pointed towards a small building, Ninja accessories scattered over the window.

Truthfully, Iruka wasn't feeling good at all…his boyfriend had been rather distant this morning. Kakashi had put on an emotional mask as he left the tent but Iruka had seen the look on his face as he prepared for the day; it was upsetting to say the least. The Jounin simply looked so utterly miserable, but as soon as Iruka had begun to speak, the silver haired man would say something quickly to avoid conversation. How was Iruka supposed to talk to his boyfriend about his thoughts on their relationship if he could not even talk to the man for more than a minute? He sighed as he maneuvered himself through the isles of the shop towards the Katana section. He had needed more of those for a while now and even though the group was supposed to be on holiday it was not a time to become too unguarded. Somebody could ambush them whilst they were unarmed; that would be disastrous.

Sakura's eyes widened at the stall in front of her…it was so white, so creamy, so dreamy. She never knew such gorgeous dresses existed.

"Ino! INO!" She squealed in utter joy, "Look at those wedding dresses! Let's go look at them closer" as soon as her outburst was finished the pinkette raced over to the attire – dragging a confused and dazed Lee behind her - as fast as she could in her bloated state.

Her blonde friend look little time to follow her and joined her best mate as the pink haired girl fawned over a creamy maple dress; the top section had no straps and was tight so that it could squeeze the girl enough to stop the dress falling off. A large flower was clipped onto the right hip and was an exquisite white colour that shone and made the dress look classy. The skirt was long enough to drag on the ground behind the one wearing it; no doubt whatever her height. It was plain yet radiant and there were folds and tucks randomly all over the cloth to give the dress a crimped style…all in all the dress was beautiful.

The blonde wolf whistled quietly, alerting Sakura that she had arrived. Ino knew that both Lee and Sakura had promised to marry sometime soon…it was obvious that she would want to gawk at the types of dress she would wear one day. Ino had to admit though, it was a nice dress. Sometimes she really felt lonely; what with all of her friends having a significant other, a lover and someone to give their heart to. Ino wanted that. Though she found that most men she had been with had only used her; she was easy. The blonde knew that she was easy; she couldn't help it. It wasn't the sex that mattered to her – she just wanted to keep them with her. Sadly the ways in which she did it only seemed to push people away from her and now she had been labeled as easy. She didn't dwell on it though…no doubt one day she would find someone who would adore her like her friends.

Ino grinned happily as she bounced over to the bridesmaids dress ware; now she really was interested!

* * *

A slight hazy mist had settled upon the small area; intensified by the fine, thin rays of light that crept through the few openings above. Tall frail trees scattered every so often but mostly large, bulky frames adorned the small plain. The ground was feathered with dried, dead bark…like a soft blanket on the forest bed. The green leaves covering the trees, made them take on an almost fluffy appearance; they shone in the dim light, as did the moss on the sides of the path – if you could call it that – which led through an archway of leaves and dark wood.

Through the centre of the arch came a short blond boy…his golden hair shining in the afternoon wind as it bounced with him. He was running, laughing his heart out as he skipped over a stump – furry with grass and moss – before turning to see a dark haired boy run after him. The shorter of the two took off again…racing through the wilderness until he reached a dead end. In front of him the trees had gathered and blocked the path. He groaned loudly as he heard the other catch up; slowing to a jog behind him.

The blond grinned and laughed apologetically before he was tackled to the ground with a thud. He struggled against the others grasp…his arms now pinned above his head as he writhed under the darker boys hands. Obsidian eyes watched with amusement as the boy beneath him gasped and fought; trying desperately to get away from his feather light tickles.

"Ahh! S-sasss…please uhh s-sto-op!"

The larger boy – Sasuke Uchiha, if you hadn't guessed - smirked at that; continuing to hold the tanned arms above the younger boys head with one pale hand as the other mercilessly tickled his small, trembling form. Naruto kicked and yelled as much as he could, but to no avail…his boyfriend was perched comfortably atop him; straddling his waist and rendering any motion of his legs useless.

"Ahahaha! P-please…oh nnnno! P-pllll-uh! STOP!"

And he did. Sasuke stopped and gave the jinchuuriki time to breathe, not moving from the position he was in. He watched as the flushed face before him returned to its naturally tanned colour and how the sweat that had gathered on the younger boy's skin began to dry in the atmosphere. Naruto's cerulean eyes were closed for the time being; relief washing over him at the loss of constant tickling.

"Teme! You didn't have to be so rough!" he said once his breath returned to it's normal pace…his heart beating regularly now.

"You deserved it dobe!" Sasuke snapped before he lowered his head to lick at Naruto's ear, whispering into it. "And I could tell you wanted it…didn't you Naruto? Didn't you want it?"

Naruto sighed at the feeling as Sasuke let go of his hands and they wound themselves behind the raven's neck…fingers entwining in the black locks as the other cupped the back of his neck. The Uchiha lowered himself so that his chest nearly touched Naruto's…his arms – from his elbow to his wrist - resting either side of the blonde's head. He moved his head back a little so that he could stare into those big azure eyes that he loved so much; he loved the way he would get so caught up in them that he would forget the world around him. He let a warm smile adorn his lips as he slowly pressed them to the rosy ones below.

The kiss was sweet and tender; their lips touching gently, moving together carefully. Both teens closed their eyes to take advantage of the feeling; each others lips on their own. They never wanted to break apart yet they did…Sasuke pulling away first – Naruto couldn't because his head was still resting on the ground – placing light butterfly kisses on the soft lips before he got off of the younger boy. Taking a tanned hand in his and lacing their contrasting fingers together as they turned to go back to camp…it must have been about five o'clock and god only knew how long it would take them to get back.

* * *

"I know! Let's play a game!" Naruto exclaimed as he shook a bottle of Asahi beer in his hand before popping it open with a small pocket knife.

"Yosh! That is a very youthful idea indeed. But what shall we play?"

The whole group was gathered around in a circle on a soft purple blanket – supplied by Ino and the same one that had been laid out that morning – with a selection of alcohol beverages in the centre. A fire burned brightly to the side of them; supplying heat and light to the now completely dark area. Everyone had began drinking already; except Lee and Sakura of course…it would be unhealthy for the baby to have it's mother drinking at such a late stage of pregnancy…as for Rock Lee…well; everyone knows how violent he gets with even the slightest sip of sake. Better not to risk their lives.

Iruka had agreed with the 'mini-party' - as Naruto put it – after he was begged by said blond for half an hour non-stop. The teacher suspected the reason for his nagging persistence, which was surprisingly more than usual, was due to the fact that he had already begun drinking their assortment and was well on the way to becoming inebriated. So the party started, though it lacked liveliness as all the teens lazily spoke of one thing or another to each other as they sat on the cushioned surface. Swigging from their bottles or cups every once in a while. To say the least it was hardly a party.

So Naruto took it upon himself to come up with something interesting to do…games were always interesting. So he thought _'let's play a game'_ and so they would.

"Hmmm…I had a game in mind." Naruto paused a moment before going on to explain to rules of the game.

"Ok. Right, so…Taking it in turns each of us asks a question and gives two possible answers. So, like, someone asks: what do you like better? Vodka or Beer? Or urm…where would you rather live? Sunagakure or Iwagakura?"

"Everyone has time to decide which option they wanna vote for. Then, when everyone is ready, the one who asked the question gives their answer, and raising their hand at the same time. Whoever agrees with that answer also puts up their hands."

"We count the votes and the people who answered the answer with the least votes have to down a shot of vodka." The blond signified this statement by tapping the top of the unopened bottle of vodka situated in the centre along with the others.

The others seemed to contemplate the game for a moment before a question was flung at him from Kiba…

"What if everyone voted for the same thing?"

"Well then, then the person asking the question downs the shot themselves. And we just basically go round the circle asking questions again." Naruto smiled proudly at his invention. Though Sasuke seemed to have a better idea.

"I like it dobe. It's a good idea, but I think we should play something that will give away more about us. You know; a bit more personal. So we start of with someone stating 'Never have I ever...' where the end of the sentence can be anything. For example; 'Never have I ever been drunk'"."

"Anyone who this statement truthfully applies to doesn't have to drink. Anyone who it does not apply to – truthfully - must take a shot. So, if that was the question then everyone who had been drunk before would have to take a shot."

"If the statement isn't true about the one who asked the question then they must drink. If the statement that the speaker made applies to everyone, then only the one who asked has to drink but…they must finish their whole drink, not just a shot but a full drink."

Again, silence followed for a moment before they all decided on which game to play; the majority voting for Sasuke's idea. Naruto would normally have been annoyed that he had lost, but he wanted to play the Uchiha's game too – not to mention he was a little tipsy, along with most of the others who started early – so he let it slide. Hinata politely began filling a shot glass in front of each of her friends and had just finished when her boyfriend's voice echoed through the dark forest.

"I wanna go first, I wanna go first! Me, me, me, me!" Kiba hollered excitedly before immediately beginning his turn.

"Never have I ever laughed so hard that I've pissed myself!"

The group thought quietly for a moment before settling on an answer for themselves…Kiba snickered to himself as he reached out and took the shot. Naruto did the same, as did Ino. Sakura gave her best friend a shocked gaze but the blonde shrugged it off as she refilled her glass.

Sasuke smirked. "Never have I ever been carried out of a bar."

Naruto gave a goofy grin to his lover before he downed a second shot, Kiba also took one.

Naruto mentally decided that it was his turn and hastily began his statement…

"Never have I ever used someone else's toothbrush!"

That gained a few strange looks and the Jinchuuriki inwardly screamed at how lame his sentence had been; not to mention the fact that he too had to take a drink. Most of the people there had to drink to that one though; even Sasuke.

Lee gave his good guy pose before starting, "Never have I ever regurgitated into someone else's mouth." The dark haired boy seemed proud of his idea but the rest of the group seemed distasteful of his statement…giving him disgusted looks. However, Iruka and Kiba both drank.

"Ewwwww! Irukaaa senseiii!" Naruto moaned as he attempted to block out the mental images rushing into his head at that moment.

"Ino why don't you go next" Sakura said sweetly to her friend before snuggling closer to her boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around her body, sharing warmth with his love.

"Never have I ever made a fool of myself in front of the object of my desires."

For this decision it was a varied vote; Naruto, Ino, Hinata, Kiba and Iruka were the ones to empty the contents of their shots down their throats. None cringed at the bitter taste any more…the alcohol was finally entering the blood in each of their bodies and numbing them from the burning sensation of vodka.

Iruka cleared his throat to let the others know that he was to be taking his turn now…"Never have I ever been in a bathroom of the opposite sex" he spoke shyly with embarrassment evident in his voice. Nobody seemed to notice this though, probably due to the fact that his cheeks were already stained a rosy colour from his beverage.

Lee was the first to lean forwards and take a shot, followed by Ino and then Naruto, who grumbled out in a whined voice "How comes I seem to be dwinking to evewy singow statement," then the blond realised slowly that his lover had not taken part in his own game for some time. With a dopy smile he turned to his boyfriend and promptly crawled into his lap; resting his head onto the dark boy's lap…his legs outstretched as he gazed up at the cold black eyes that only warmed for him.

"Hey, Baaaaabe! You should do one now; this was you're idea in the fiwst place!"

Sasuke grunted but a smirk was plastered on his face as he began to speak – having no problems with slurring his words; it took much more drink to make him unfit to speak…which was more than he could say about a certain young blond who's head was firmly placed in his crotch.

"Never have I ever kissed a girl"

Most people took their shots immediately; not even having to think about the question. The ones to drink were; Ino, Naruto, Kiba and Iruka. Naruto looked at Sasuke expectantly, though his eyes were slightly glazed after taking the drink.

"Liar…you have too kissed giwls."

Sasuke shook his head; no. But Naruto was not pleased with this answer.

"Yer you have, loads'a giwls have kissed ya" The Uchiha's smirk widened and he calmly agreed to the statement. By now most of the group was watching them, at least half of which knew that Sasuke would win this argument, the other half – mainly consisting of Kakashi, Kiba and Ino, who were well on their way to becoming drunk…much like Naruto – were as stumped as Naruto was.

"Then you have kissed a giwl teme!"

Sasuke laughed lightly as he watched Naruto's confused eyes cloud over in annoyance.

"They kissed me; I have never kissed a girl."

Naruto stared for a moment, seemingly pondering the words before he smiled sheepishly and pulled Sasuke's body over his own so that their lips brushed briefly. The blond wanted more but Sasuke was not inebriated enough to have a full blown make out session while their friends sat and watched. He still had his Uchiha pride to look after. Nevertheless, Naruto seemed to accept the explanation and without further complaints, they continued with the game.

…

…

Two and a half hours, an unconscious Kiba, and a camp littered with empty beer and sake bottled later and all the teenagers – save Sakura and Lee – were, to put it simply, completely and utterly smashed. Somewhere along the line all of the statements began to turn cornier and dirtier as well; not that anybody could complain even if they wanted to.

The group were still sitting in a makeshift circle, though it had been adapted to suit their liking…Hinata was seated next to her unconscious boyfriend who was snoring quietly to himself as a pool of drool formed under his cheek. The raven haired girl was playing carelessly with his muddy-brown hair as she joined the game at times, drinking from a bottle of Kirin Ichiban; though it was only half full now, when she was not taking shots.

Lee was propped up against a rucksack that he had retrieved from his tent a while ago, Sakura perched between his open legs. She had her head resting on his chest so he could still see the game. The two were the only sober teens at the camp now – correction, the only sober people at the camp now; since even Iruka had allowed himself to become slightly tipsy.

Speaking of which…Iruka had managed to shuffle himself closer to Kakashi through the duration of the night, though the other male did not seem to notice. The two were now sat shoulder to shoulder, Iruka sat crossed legged as Kakashi sat with his legs open and bent close to his chest so that he could rest his arms on his knees.

Naruto – who was by far the most inebriated there – was currently straddling Sasuke's hips as the older boy sat against the large rock that he had leant on earlier, it was smooth and looked like an oversized pebble. Sasuke had his legs stretched out straight. The two could still successfully reach the shots in the centre due to the angle they were situated in. The way they sat made the cloth - with all their drink on - located to the right of them and so it was easy for both of them to reach over and grab a drink. Sasuke was now drinking a large bottle of Sake as Naruto slurped at another Asahi beer…Turns out it's his favourite.

Ino was half conscious as she lay on her stomach facing her friends and the drink. She was entertaining herself with shots of tequila – ones she had successfully stolen from an oblivious Kakashi – whenever she was not downing vodka.

Hinata started her statement, drawing her words out drunkenly. "A n'va huv'a I ever cheatud on some'dy."

It took a few second for people to make out her slurred words but they soon realised what it was she had said and a select few reached for their glasses…the select few being Ino who promptly started her own sentence with surprising understanding…

"Neverrr have I everrr ssspit" Ino winked to show exactly what she meant; she was talking about swallowing or spitting after giving a blow job.

Surprisingly – or perhaps not so – only two of the six eligible teenagers drank to the statement…those two being Sasuke and Iruka.

Kakashi got a wicked idea, though in his drunken mind he did not pause to contemplate what might happen if he followed through with his little game, and so he began his turn.

"N'ver have I ev'r had a sexual fant'sy bowt a senseiii…n' act'd on it!"

He received a few strange glances before Sakura took it upon herself to serve as the interpreter for the rest of the night, coughing lightly she repeated his words…

"Never have I ever had a sexual fantasy about a sensei and acted upon it."

A bright blush covered Iruka's cheeks as he watched Kakashi down a shot…everyone else seemed surprised as well, Ino had also taken a shot but it seemed that it went unnoticed as a small smile crept onto the teacher's lips before he too took a shot. A few gasps were heard as he pounced on to Kakashi after he was finished and proceeded to deep kiss his boyfriend in front of their students shocked gazes. The initial surprise wore of quickly though, as the next person spoke up, only to have Sakura interpret Naruto's words like she had done with Kakashi…though it was harder to understand this time

"Na have a nuva bin c'mfuble en, enuf wik meee lurva tay live da bat'rum door opin"

"Um…Never have I ever been comfortable enough with my lover to live…leave, sorry, the bathroom door open." She sighed once done as a massive fox grin was sent her way from none other than the blond himself before he plonked his head back into Sasuke's neck with a thud before he started sucking on the soft skin their.

Out of everyone there only Kakashi and Naruto – after being forcibly removed from Sasuke, before the raven haired boy gave him his shot; only half of one since the Uchiha deemed Naruto drunk enough – drank to that sentence.

They continued on for a while longer…each giving their statement before Sakura repeated it if she deemed it too slurred to understand. Most of the further sentences were sexually related since all the shinobi seemed to turn perverted after having alcohol. Such as "never would I ever have a one night stand," Sasuke had been the one to say that, the responses equal since Ino, Sasuke and Kakashi all drank; making the results even.

Sakura had chirped in with a suggestion of never having had kinky sex, everyone drank to that except Hinata, who by now was laying down next to her snoring dog-loving partner and quickly falling asleep as well.

Kakashi – who had a tipsy Iruka in his arms now – took his last turn, which had been "never have I ever woken people up by being too loud during sexual intercourse," to which Naruto and Sasuke shamefully drank to, as well as Ino who followed with "Never have I ever had sex in a sleeping bag." That had been her last question as well; luckily she actually did not have to drink to it – surprisingly – before she wobbled into her tent.

Iruka had declared the last statement of the night – since Sakura had ordered them to pack it in after that, probably because Naruto was half asleep atop of Sasuke…not to mention Hinata and Kiba were also asleep and the pink haired girl was likely to have wanted sleep – "Never have I ever dropped an eating utensil on the floor as an excuse to go under the table and give my boyfriend a blow job." Iruka had drunk to his own sentence before crawling to his tent, leaving his lover behind since Kakashi could not move any longer. Naruto had also drank to it. The blond had bid his friends goodnight as they returned to their tents…leaving Sasuke and Naruto with a sleeping Hinata as well as an unconscious Kakashi and Kiba.

The Jinchuuriki had taken this chance to make out with his boyfriend since nobody would see. He had feverishly pushed his mouth to the Uchiha's, their teeth clashing together as they did so but neither cared. Both kissed aggressively and hungrily…though the kiss was sloppy and wet, bitter with the taste of alcohol. Naruto stopped vigorously attempting to reach the back of Sasuke's throat with his tongue and instead nibbled on a pale collarbone.

Sasuke had squeaked uncharacteristically before trying to pry the blond boy off him; he was unsuccessful. After a few moments Sasuke gave up trying and instead asked his dobe to remove himself so that they could get to bed. Naruto had not replied but he had ceased the biting. The last Uchiha had not known whether to be pleased at this or not, he promptly chose not to be when he heard the soft breathing pattern being emitted from the smaller boy, added to the fact that no movement had come from the blond in over a minute led him to one conclusion…he was asleep.

Great; looks like they too would be sleeping outside.

* * *

**Sorry for the long time to update but school just started again and I've been really busy hehe. I'll try to be faster next time. Hope you enjoyed please rate and review Xx..xX**


	6. Camping: day four

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

Crusty blue eyes opened at the sound of retching. Naruto took a moment to look up into the bright morning sky and realize that he was not in his tent. Sitting up, the blond haired jinchuuriki looked around – after rubbing his eyes childishly with the backs of his hands - and took in the state of those around him – most of whom were still asleep. Hinata was laying sprawled out on the dirty ground; a blanket had been thrown over her during the night – presumably by Iruka – and she had a tendency to sigh every so often, as Naruto noticed.

Kakashi – who had also fallen asleep outside the previous night – was no where to be seen so the blond concluded that Iruka must have dragged him back inside after covering everyone with a blanket. Big blue eyes looked down slightly at the thought to find a red bundle of cloth covering him and at the very end of the soft, comforting blanket he saw two sets of feet. He smiled to himself as he nuzzled into the chest of his sleeping Uchiha.

His look turned worried however, after hearing the dark boy groan in his sleep and whimper in pain. Naruto knew immediately what was wrong with his beloved; he had a hangover. _'Speaking of which…' _Naruto thought as he turned his head towards the sound of vomiting. Sure enough, his dog-crazed best friend was on his knees throwing his guts up. Naruto cringed at the sight. It was times like these that he was extremely glad to have Kyuubi; who healed him from the torture of being sick. Though truthfully Naruto could not say that throwing up was a horrible experience as he had never actually thrown up in his life…neither had he experienced a head ache like his boyfriend was at the present time. It was times like these that also made Naruto feel terribly different and unnatural.

Naruto sighed as the dog lover calmed himself before tumbling into his tent; presumably for water or some kind of medication to cure his head – which was no doubt throbbing; poor Kiba got all the symptoms of a deathly hangover.

The blond was shaken from his thoughts – literally – as he was promptly thrown off of his lovers embrace. He gave Sasuke a half annoyed, half worried look as the raven gripped at his head before crawling over to their tent and disappearing into the shelter. Naruto hated to see the Uchiha like this; if he could he would take the pain upon himself if only to stop his boyfriend from being uncomfortable. Naruto lay on his back for a few more moments before stretching blissfully. He could faintly hear murmured voices coming from the tent belonging to Sakura. They were female; so it must have been Ino and Sakura. It actually took a lot to give Ino a hangover so it came as no surprise that she was already awake and chatting with her best friend.

The two girls emerged from the pink tent, engaged in a conversation about pitiful boys and their lack of motivation, or – in some cases – too much motivation. It was at this point that the blonde shinobi decided to getup; to check on his father-figure; Iruka had drunk quite an amount of alcohol the previous night and Naruto wondered how he would take to it. To be honest he had never really seen Iruka drink before, not like he had last night. Though he concluded that the man mustn't be too bad or he would have passed on taking care of everybody in his motherly fashion.

As Naruto stood he began to walk over to the tent belonging to his sensei as he kept his eyes on his two female friends who were in the middle of waking an unconscious Hyuuga. As soon as he took a step however, he was hit with an extremely bad feeling in his gut. The blond stopped dead in his tracks, _'what the fuck was that?!' _he thought; slightly panicked about the strange sensation running through his abdomen. A certain pink haired teammate of his seemed to notice his predicament.

"Naruto? You're ok aren't you?" She asked in a caring tone, her features betrayed the worry for her blond friend. Naruto smiled and nodded before continuing to his 'father's' tent…ignoring the swirling uncomfortable feeling swelling in his stomach. What the hell was that? It felt like everything in his tummy was rocking around. He could feel a slight burning filling his chest also. Whatever this was he did not like it.

He stopped again, hearing that Ino had gone into his and Sasuke's tent to care to his boyfriend's headache as much as she could; which would not be very successful since curing a hangover with medical skills never seemed to work. Right now Naruto didn't care. He felt weak at the knees. The burning had reached his throat and it was taking all he had to stop himself from letting the tears that had gathered in his eyes from leaking out.

A sudden burst of bubbling gassy eruption however, sent the jinchuuriki to the ground and he abruptly opened his mouth wide to let the burning, sickening concoction spill from his throat. It burned - badly - and Naruto could not keep from letting tears spill down his face. He knew he was throwing up; he had been right in thinking that it was an awful experience, though he was truly confused at why he was retching his guts up. Kyuubi had never let drink damage him in this way before – she had no need to start now.

His blonde sat for a few more moments as he spat the remaining taste from his mouth. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up the meet the wide eyes of his friends… all of which had no idea what to think; each knew that he never got sick, and everyone knew why as well. Naruto trembled slightly as his pink haired friend ran towards him, he felt so cold, though he had to admit, he did feel better than before; the churning in his stomach had stopped and he felt better than before. More awake too.

"Good god, Naruto! What the hell was that?! You never get sick!"

Naruto could do nothing but shrug his shoulders before the burning sensation came back abruptly and he turned his head to the side just in time to get the horrid stuff out somewhere other than all over Sakura. That was the last time he threw up, but it didn't stop everybody from fussing over him. Well; Iruka – who had come out of his tent after hearing the screeched comment from Sakura – was the one who ushered him into his tent and told him to lay down with Sasuke and sleep a little more, Kiba had also come out of his tent at the sound of someone else being sick – considering it was right beside his tent, it was not surprising that he had heard – as well as the three girls who also looked on with shocked and worried expressions. Iruka ordered everyone to go back to what they were doing and mentioned that they should start making breakfast soon.

As Naruto lay beside his sleeping lover, he made a decision not to mention this to his bastard…it would not do the last Uchiha any good to be worrying over him. Though he would need to have a talk with Kyuubi over this. With that thought in mind, Naruto closed his eyes and reseeded into his mind, where his fox was undoubtedly awaiting him. It had been quite some time since he had been to see her and it was a shame that he would be there to argue over the state of his health.

* * *

**The large cage looked as ****morbid as it always did. Though, it was all Naruto could expect from the prison of the most vicious and hated demon ever to have walked the earth. Truthfully, the blond actually liked Kyuubi; she had always been kind to him. Even when he was younger and did not realize she was with him, he had always been protected by her. She was somewhat like a mother now and he spoke to her frequently. **

**He approached the gates slowly…cautiously. She might have been like a mother to him, but he could tell she was sleeping – as she had not yet greeted him - and just because she was a demon did not make her any less angry when woken up. Naruto knew – through experience – that Kyuubi was exceptionally worse than any normal women should be when it came to being a bitch. Though, he supposed, it was most likely to do with the fact that she was, in fact, a demon. **

**He lightly tapped on the bars, creating a vibrating ting that sounded through the large chamber. Then he proceeded to call out to her; this was the routine he always took when waking the fox.**

"**Kyuubi!"**

"**What?" her voice echoed through the area. It was feminine, soft yet harsh. Naruto concluded that she must have been in her human form…which she usually was now; to be honest Naruto rarely saw her in her fox form any more.**

"**Why the hell ****did I…Like…why was I sick this morning?" He questioned as he saw her approaching form. She was wearing her usual attire; an orange, brown and golden kimono, it was short – only reaching to her thighs – with long sleeves covering her hands, the obi was golden and the pattern on the garment was mostly brown with orange flicks around it; it looked like her fox tails only thinner, or trickles of flames and smoke. It clung to her form showing how slim she was, Kyuubi had a very petite image…she had a rather small waist, as well as a fairly none existent chest. Nine fluffy tails feathered from behind the robe; the proof of her identity. Though she was tall – much taller than Naruto, and had to have been only an inch or two below Sasuke's height; who was very tall now and towered over the blond. This only made her seem more intimidating as she stood before him, with a wicked smirk on her face; it was the one she always wore. **

"**That is none of your concern for the moment kit. You will find out soon enough." Her tone was final, and Naruto knew immediately that he was not going to win this. **

"**But that was the first time in my life that you've let me be sick!"**

"**I do not care."**

"**Kyuubi!"**

"**I told you. It is none of your concern for the moment. I shall see to it that you are well looked after."**

"**Well looked after? Yeh cause spewing my guts up is really well looked after," Naruto then frowned at her as she began to giggle. Giggle?! Now he knew that something was very wrong.**** The nine tailed fox demon does not giggle.**

"**It is all for the best, kit. Trust me? This will make you happy."**

**Kyuubi smiled sincerely. The blond was probably the only one ever to have seen an emotion such as love cross her dark face. She had extremely tanned skin…much more so than Naruto's creamy tan, her hair was thick, fiery red. It wove down below her little bottom and ended at her thighs in tight curls; two long orange fox ears poking out of the mass. She was quite pretty, but not the most beautiful creature. Her face was long and slim, her eyes big – there blood red colour still present – and her mouth and nose small. **

"**What's for the best…me throwing up or what?" **

**But Kyuubi just smiled, a little sadly, and told him again not to worry.**

"**Kit, do not worry about you're health; I will make sure you are kept healthy. As I have always done. You trust me do you not?"**

"**Yes, Kyuu, I do…but-"**

"**Then do not ask of this matter again! I will tell you when I feel you are ready. Now get out of my lair." **

**Naruto sighed but turned away from her, closing his eyes he began to drift back into his own mind. Ever since he had started speaking with Kyuubi, he had begun having thoughts about what had happened the day he was born. Because although he knew how truly evil she was, Naruto did not want to accept that it was her who willingly killed so many innocent people. **

**She had always insisted that he leave the subject alone whenever he brought it up too. Which made his doubts grow. He chose not to dwell on it though; it was probably just wishful thinking on his account. He had begun to love her**** - like a child would love their mother. Naruto had Iruka to play the part of his father, but he had never known anyone to take to role of his mother. Although Tsunade cared for him, it was more like a sisterly love that he shared with her. **

* * *

"Kakashi?"

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

The Jounin stiffened at those words…the words nobody wanted to hear. He knew what those words meant; especially when coming from his boyfriend. It meant this was over. It meant Iruka was finishing with him. That's what it meant.

The two men had not spoken a word to each other since their second day here - after the horrible realization had dawned on Kakashi that Iruka had indeed only looked his way in order to put a stop to the silver-haired mans advances. Perhaps if he could remember what had happened last night, he might think again about such matters, but he could not and so, did not. But Kakashi swallowed his fear and held back the tears that threatened to tear from his blurry eyes.

The two were in their tent again – Iruka having left briefly to see his beloved 'son' regurgitating the contents of his tummy all over the forest bed – Kakashi had his back to Iruka; who was still by the entrance on his knees, the Jounin himself had not yet left his bed and was comfortably wrapped in their sleeping bag. He had a splitting headache – no doubt from the amount of booze he had drank last night.

"I know. I understand. I wish you had said something earlier." He said; his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeh. I suppose, I was afraid. You know. And I never intended to hurt you in the process, but I guess things don't work that way." The Chuunin's tone was soft yet regret was laced in each word.

Kakashi let a thin tear roll down his face, only to disappear as it made contact with the black mask adorning his face. So this really was the end.

"I…I'm not hurt, Iruka. I just wish things had been different. But it's ok. As long as you're happy with this then I am too."

"But Kakashi. I can't help but feel like I owe you an apology. You see, it wasn't until the other day - when I spoke to Naruto about us - that I realized and, you know; I really saw what a fool I'd been. All this time I've been trying to hide us when the truth of the matter was staring me right in the face."

Kakashi merely nodded. He could see why Iruka was so regretful. If he, himself, had entered a relationship with somebody he was uninterested in then yes, he too would regret having initiated the whole set up. The older sensei wished he could prevent his silent crying, he was thankful that Iruka could not see how wet his face had become with sticky trails of emotion.

"So, Kakashi. I am sorry for having troubled you so."

Iruka wanted more of a reaction from Kakashi. He hadn't expected the other man to simply nod in agreement after pushing him so much. _'His hangover must be really bad; he's certainly not acting his usual self.' _The Chuunin made his way silently to the lump under the sleeping bag, Kakashi's back was turned to him, but he desperately wanted to see his face; he hadn't seen beneath the mask in two days. It must have been due to withdrawal symptoms that he was itching to grab the older man in an embrace and rip the damn thing off before smothering him in kisses.

Kakashi felt his boyfriend lay down – above the sleeping bag - beside him. _'Oh no.' _he corrected, _'ex-boyfriend.'_

"Hey, Kakashi." Chocolate eyes raked over the figure in front of himself; was it just him or was Kakashi shaking?

"We should tell Naruto. I'm sure he'd like to know, since I didn't confide in him that we were a couple in the first place I'm sure he'd be glad that I did listen to his words."

Kakashi didn't answer, so Iruka continued.

"I worry about him you know. His and Sasuke's relationship will bring nothing but tears and heartbreak. He's like a son to me; I don't want to see him when it happens. It will be a terrible sight I'm sure."

"And then there's that monster inside of him. He talks to 'her' you know. I couldn't believe it at first; that the most hated and feared demon ever heard of is actually a hermaphrodite. Who would have thought it huh? And the infamous beast actually prefers to be female! It's quite a discovery. Nevertheless she is still far too dangerous and insane to be conversing with my son! I highly disapprove of the connection. But Naruto seems to like her. And she has always taken care of him. But she didn't have a choice right!? He is her vessel so she must protect him to stay alive."

"But no matter what she can protect him from physically. I have no idea how she plans on mending a broken heart. Which he will have when that snobby asshole Sasuke decides to dump him for a frigging family! How dare he! How dare he toy with my boy's heart like that. And after Naruto went through so much to try and bring him back. All that stubborn kid does to repay him is hurt him more than anyone can. Speaking of which, have you spoken to Sasuke to see if he would consider forgetting about a family?"

Kakashi listened as Iruka continued to ramble about his precious student. His tears had stopped now and his upset had turned into anger as his ex lay spouting nonsense as if nothing had ever happened between them. If Iruka thought this would help he was deeply mistaken; it only made things ten times worse.

"And then this morning! Jesus! What the hell was that, Kakashi!? Naruto has never been sick in all the years I've known him! Never been ill. Never had a cold. He has never even stepped foot inside a doctors. Only to the hospital if he had endured bad physical damage. And then this morning to suddenly throw up! I mean gods! I thought that stupid fox was looking after him. What on earth was she doing!? Sleeping!?"

Iruka was starting to get worried when the silver haired man replied by staying unmoving. Kakashi was never quiet like this.

"Hey…Kakashi?" a grunt was his only retort. "Why don't we go and see Naruto just now. It's been a few hours since he was sick and Sasuke might be getting over his headache now. Not to mention the girls should have prepared breakfast now. Though, I must say I'm sorry for boring you all this time with my mindless blabber. Come on Kakashi…Let's go wake the sleepyheads."

Iruka shuffled to the tent zip before opening it and stepping outside. There he waited patiently while taking in his surroundings.

Hinata and Ino were cooking some kind of soup atop the fire – the same one that had been lit the previous night – though Hinata seemed a little out of it, also a result of the night before. Kiba sat crossed legged further away; his eyes were closed and an ice pack was pressed against his head as Rock Lee kneeled beside him and worried on his condition, though the clueless boy was only making his friend feel worse.

The weather was nicer now; there was a cool breeze but a warm atmosphere. And as Iruka turned towards his sons' tent, he was slightly surprised to see the blond laying peacefully next to the navy blue tent. Though with such a bright light shining down upon it, the material seemed a lighter, shinier blue.

The lovable boy laid spread out on the soft mossy floor – a small cloth underneath him that barely reached from his heels to his neck. The boy was wearing very little. In fact the shorts he had on – bright yellow with orange strips at the waist and at the edge of each leg – looked more like a baggy pair of boxers, which, knowing Naruto, they probably were. The teacher deducted within a few seconds that the teen was sunbathing. No doubt his lover was still feeling unhealthy. Iruka faintly wondered if the Jinchuuriki had told Sasuke about the sickness, but all thoughts disappeared when his boyfriend emerged from the tent; an emotionless mask set upon the only features visible to others.

Kakashi was wearing a clingy white t-shirt and long baggy grey trousers. As soon as he left the tent he immediately headed over to their destination – Iruka in tow.

"Hello Naruto." The silver haired man said as he spotted the blond.

"Oh, Hey Kakashi sensei. Iruka Sensei! What is it you guys wanted? I was just perfecting my lovely tan, hehe."

"Nonsense Naruto," Iruka stated with glee, "You've always had gloriously tanned skin, and it makes no difference how long you stay in the sun."

"Yeh but, it feels good in the sun like this. Really nice. So what do you want?"

Kakashi held his breath. He knew that he should not get so upset over such a thing, but even though they were no longer a couple, Iruka had not uttered the words yet…'we split up'…'We're not together'…'it's over'…and Kakashi dreaded it.

"Well, we were talking and me and Kakashi came to a decision…"

'_Oh, god. Here it comes.' _

"…we're going to tell everyone that we're together!"

A large grin split the blonde's face, making his equally large cerulean eyes crinkle at the edges. Iruka wore a similar expression. Kakashi, however, stood completely still with a gaping mouth. He knew he looked like a fool. And so to keep his pride and save himself from embarrassment he marched back into his own tent; gaining strange looks from both his 'boyfriend' and his student.

Iruka – who was quite startled by his lovers sudden actions – turned to Naruto and apologized for Kakashi's behavior before following the other man to their tent.

"What the hell Kakashi? What's wrong with you today? There must be something more than a hangover for you to be acting so strangely. I thought you wanted to tell people!" Iruka questioned heatedly as he entered the tent in a flurry. Kakashi did nothing though, he just continued sitting on the ruffled sleeping bag and completely ignored Iruka's words.

"Kakashi?"

Iruka made his way –hesitantly – over to his love. When he saw no signs of protest, he fell to his knees behind the masked shinobi and encircled the man with his arms. The only notion that showed Kakashi's knowledge of the other mans presence was a light shudder as the chocolate eyed Chuunin embraced him.

"I…I thought. I thought you had finished with me, Iruka. Oh gods I-Iruka, I was s-so scared. I truly-ly thou-ought it was o-over." A sob broke from the silver haired mans throat and in a moment Iruka was in front of him; still holding the older man and he rocked them both while reassuring Kakashi that they were fine and that this had only been a small misunderstanding. It took a long while for the Jounin to stop crying but when he did the two found themselves laying together peacefully – Iruka's back to Kakashi's chest and their hands locked for most of the morning; both completely forgot about breakfast.

* * *

By midday everyone was settled around the camp – minus Sasuke and Kiba who both had to return to bed shortly after leaving – all of them were included in a conversation about Akatsuki; which had strangely been started by Lee, to everyone's annoyance. They were all feeling uncomfortable with the topic of discussion and Naruto took it upon himself to lead the conversation into another direction as Sakura made a comment on the leader.

"What are those weird dot things on his nose anyway…I thought that maybe they were scars, but from what I won-"

"Hey guys! Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei have something to tell us, don't you?" The blond rudely interrupted his pink haired friend, though the kunoichi didn't mind since she seemed to find their news far more interesting. Iruka blushed but both he and Kakashi had agreed that the Chuunin would be the one to tell everyone.

"Well…me and Kakashi, we're kinda like, um…boyfriends."

The response he got was not one he expected.

Nobody seemed disgusted or angered by the news; in fact, most seemed overjoyed; Lee's immediate outburst was "Yosh! Let everybody bask in the glory of youth and love!" To which his pregnant girlfriend giggled happily. Ino wore a large grin before she leaned over and whispered – though everyone could hear her – into Iruka's ear "I totally knew it!" To which Hinata nodded. It seemed their relationship had not been as unexpected as The Chuunin had thought.

He smiled gently as he looked at his boyfriend. The older man grinned before kissing him lightly on the lips; through the mask of course, since they were in public. Only a select few have seen the gorgeous features behind the mask. Kakashi is certainly hansom, perhaps even more so than Uchiha Sasuke. His nose is slim with a perfectly sphere tip; his lips are thin but full. High cheekbones create a defined manly shape to his entire face. It's a shame the man feels the need to hide himself from the world. Perhaps it was to rid him of fan girls – nobody knows, and it's not likely anybody will ever know.

"Hey Iruka" The Jounin said quietly as he separated fro his love. "I'm just going to go see Sasuke for a bit. Kay?"

He got a nod in reply and quickly scurried to the Uchiha's tent. He received a few questioning glances but no one followed. Upon entering the tent, he received a half hearted glare from the Uchiha- resting in his sleeping bag but unable to sleep – but proceeded over to the young Raven.

Sasuke hadn't got much sleep since his small escapade out of the tent. He had requested that everyone leave him alone. But he had been considering talking to Kakashi about a few problems of his; mainly surrounding a certain blond idiot, a pained heart and a big bad decision.

"What do you want?" he grumbled to the unwelcome guest.

"Oh, Sasuke. Why the mean demeanor? Is that the way you always treat guests?" He said sweetly as he smiled to the grumpy teenager.

"Hn, what do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Naruto." Sasuke groaned; he had seen that coming.

"Well, I don't." And with that Sasuke turned in his sleeping bag and forced Kakashi to stare at his back. It did little to sway his former sensei from continuing.

"I think you should talk about your problems. I know you have been wanting to leave him for a long time now an-"

"Get out…"

"-and I feel like you are making a decision that will not-"

"Get out!"

"-only be upsetting for Naruto. But also for yourself; why on earth would you want to cause yourself such stress?"

Sasuke turned swiftly in the sleeping bag and sat up so that his face was millimeters away from the older mans.

"Get out." He whispered dangerously; daring the silver haired man to continue, which – much to Sasuke's demise – he did.

"Sasuke…talk to me. I promise you whatever you say in here will be kept between the two of us only."

Kakashi watched as his students eyes began to fill with liquid.

Sasuke denied that he was crying. Uchiha's do not cry, especially in front of others.

Reaching out his arms Kakashi took the trembling teen into a hug. He wondered if this was the result of keeping so much emotion locked away; the result of all the pain Sasuke had kept locked inside his heart.

"I-I Don't want t-to leave him, Ka-Kakashi. I want to stay with him a-always…b-but-"

Sasuke could not continue as a sob ripped from the back of his throat and he struggled to breath through the tears. Kakashi rocked the boy, shushing him in attempts to calm him down. It seemed to work for few minutes passed before the younger male collected himself and molded his pained expression back to his emotionless facade. Kakashi sighed at this; would this kid ever learn?

"I think you should leave." He said as he turned his face away and wiped furiously at the tear stains, still sniffling as his nose ran.

"I think you should trust in me. Tell me how you feel, I promise I won't interfere."

"It doesn't matter. I have to leave him and that's that. What I feel doesn't matter!"

"What about Naruto? What about what he feels?" Sasuke stiffened.

"I don't want to hurt him. I will make sure he is comfortable when I leave him. I will arrange for a house and get him settled. It's all that I can do."

"Why not give up; why not just give your goal up?"

Sasuke looked straight into his teacher's eyes…contemplating the words that he had never considered before.

"No. I can't. I have to do this. I must revive the clan. Then I can die in peace knowing that my blood will live on. I have to do this for the family. For them. Now get out."

Kakashi sighed; this was going nowhere. "As you wish." He stopped at the entrance to the tent and turned slightly before leaving, he looked into Sasuke's eyes. The boy was lying again with his blank eyes staring at the roof.

"By the way. Naruto was sick this morning."

The Uchiha's eyes widened. He looked questioningly at Kakashi.

"I don't know Sasuke. Nobody knows why it happened. We'll have to make sure it doesn't again. It could be serious if even the fox can't prevent it. I'm sorry for telling you. Naruto didn't seem to want you to know. Good day, Sasuke." And with that Kakashi left the tent – along with a worried Raven.

* * *

The rest of the day was dull. Most of the group retired early to their tents after relaxing in the sun all day. Naruto was the last of them.

He had been out of his tent all day; mostly engaging in meaningless conversations with his friends…nobody had spoken of the morning again – or its consequences – and instead they all chose to forget about it. Naruto couldn't though. No matter how hard he tried, he could not forget about it; but he did try.

The only ones left in the centre were Naruto, Ino and Iruka; though Ino left quickly; her bed was far to enticing for her to ignore – especially with her growing sleepiness. So she left the two men alone for a few more minutes before they too would go to bed.

"Iruka?"

"Uhuh?"

"I'm glad that everything worked out with you and Kakashi. Just like Sasuke said it would. I guess you guys really are meant for each other." He said with a dazzling smile. Iruka couldn't help but smile back, even though he knew part of his sons smile was fake; he could see through the younger male, just like Sasuke could.

"Yes, I'm glad too. I'll see you in the morning Naruto. Take care."

Naruto watched as Iruka left to his tent. He sighed heavily before making his way to his bed and his lover. Sasuke was sleeping already and Naruto couldn't blame him. The poor Uchiha had been feeling awful all day and the Jinchuuriki was glad he was finally peaceful. He took his place – fitting snugly – beside his boyfriend and zipped up the sleeping bag. Two strong arms held him comfortably shortly after he entered the bag and that's where Naruto fell asleep; spooned against his Raven's chest. He had no idea what the next day would bring, and to be honest; he didn't care.

* * *

**YAY!! Holidays! Whoop whoop! Sorry If this chapter was a little dull or depressing or confusing. The next chapter will be more exiting! Well…Hope you enjoyed R&R Xx..xX**


	7. Camping: day five

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**To somewhat answer some of the reviews on previous chapters…**

**I _hate_ unhappy endings! Seriously…they make me cry and I _hate _crying P**

**As for Sasuke leaving him…well…I can't really say since I'll ruin the ending! But don't think just because of what I said above I'll make this story have a happy ending 'cause I could always make the sequel fix things D**

**Although this is M-preg…The characters won't actually _know _that he's pregerz for a while yet. And right now he's only been pregnant for about a month.**

**Ino and Sasuke…NO! There is nothing going on between them and there won't ever be…I have something else planned for our little Ino-chan!**

**Morning sickness…it isn't always just in the morning; in fact it usually stretches throughout the day. But for our Naruto it will mostly just last the mornings…sometimes later but usually not.**

**There is a lemon in this chapter that is not shown here. Links are on my profile.**

* * *

Sasuke wakened – annoyingly – to a pleasant smell that was wafting its way into his tent. He groaned before turning over in his sleeping bag; trying to drown out the aroma. He knew it would be useless…his dobe would undoubtedly enter after a few moments to declare breakfast ready and Sasuke was so very glad that he was feeling better now.

Closing his eyes again he pictured his lover. He knew something was wrong…very wrong. Not only had Naruto been sick the previous morning for the first time in his life, he had also been experiencing strange mood swings. Although – Sasuke pondered – that hadn't happened for a while. Then again he hadn't actually been with his boyfriend much yesterday and the day before that they were drinking. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt his blonde's chakra signature approaching the tent. Sasuke smirked.

Naruto silently crept into the tent – noticing at once that Sasuke was not awake yet; or his lover would have sensed his chakra. He slowly approached the sleeping figure, excitement bubbled in his stomach with every step. By the time he was right next to the Uchiha, Naruto was barely breathing at all for fear of wakening the boy up too early. He carefully kneeled on the sleeping bag next to his dark boyfriend and without further warning he yelled – as loud as he possibly could – right into Sasuke's ear.

"Morning, Sunshine!"

No response followed and Naruto's brows knitted; confusion written all over his baby soft face. Placing his soft hands on an exposed bare shoulder, he started to shake the raven…still nothing. This was when panic started to creep into the young blonde's mind. What if Sasuke was…? Naruto couldn't even bring himself to think it! With heightened determination, the Jinchuuriki began briskly shaking the limp body as he started chanting his lovers name over and over again – desperately trying to wake the lifeless body.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, please. Please wake up, Sasuke. Sasuke? Sasuke this isn't funny!"

Sasuke was flipped onto his back from the shaking and Naruto could only stare at his unmoving figure. There was no movement. None at all. Not a twitch of an eyelid, or the rising and falling of his chest. Naruto could feel the tears falling from his eyes and did little to stop them; he was so scared. More frightened than he'd ever been and trembling like a leaf too. As a last resort he laid his head onto the Uchiha's chest and tried his hardest to listen for the heartbeat he'd heard so many times before. Though it proved to be difficult since his hearing was filled with the sounds of his own sniffing and whimpering.

Nothing.

Naruto took a sharp intake of breath and held it as he lifted his head to look at his lover. _'Oh god no. This can't be happening!'_ Was Naruto's last coherent thought before he broke into a fit of tears and subsequently began to hyperventilate. He closed his eyes tight and prayed that this was a nightmare...that is until he felt something soft on his lips.

Something soft and warm…

Something soft and warm and disturbingly familiar…

Something soft and warm and disturbingly familiar that tasted like Sasuke!

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he realized that his dead boyfriend had his arms wrapped around him and was currently kissing him tenderly as he slowly grasped the situation; Sasuke wasn't dead. Naruto's watery eyes turned from hurt to angry and he pushed the Uchiha back onto the bed before scrambling to the exit.

"You bastard!"

Naruto said as he paused at the zipper- unable to go outside in the state he was in – spinning around to glare furiously – though not very threatening since he still had tears running down his cheeks - at the smirking boy.

"Dobe, it was just a joke. Besides…if you'd actually tried to listen to my heart beat…where my heart is, it might have helped; the heart is at the left hand side of the chest, Idiot, not the right."

Obviously, this didn't serve to calm to raging blond down; in fact, if anything, it made him even worse.

"You bastard!" He said through gritted teeth as he crawled back over to his lover, "I thought you were frigging dead! How could I possibly think straight when the one I love was lying in front of me dead?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He just studied Naruto's face before attempting to aid his situation with a lame apology.

"I didn't think you'd get so worked up before you knew for sure that I was dead. I-I'm s-sorry, ok? I didn't mean to stress you out at all…I took it too far and should have stopped when you started to panic."

Naruto looked up at him with watery eyes; pondering the boys words.

"It really took a lot for you to say that 'sorry' didn't it?"

"Hn,"

"Thought so…hehe"

Naruto smiled slightly before resting heavily upon his bastards' chest – relishing in the coolness of his pale skin. A thought struck Naruto and he giggled slightly, receiving a questioning glance from Sasuke.

"No wonder I thought you were dead, you're colder than a corpse, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha smirked and wrapped his arms around the laughing boy, burying his face into the fresh smelling blond locks. Naruto had obviously washed this morning and Sasuke vaguely wondered if perhaps his boyfriend had been sick again, but passed it off soon afterwards; it had just been a one off hangover. He returned to his previous thoughts…

The group was lucky to be situated so close to a waterfall. This made the job of washing much easier; considering if they stood just slightly away from the tumbling waves of water – not too close or they'd get hurt, that amount of water falling at that speed could only be a danger – then they were sprayed much like in a shower; very handy indeed.

"Hey, Sasuke…" Naruto started as he flipped around, pushing his own chest onto Sasuke's.

"Can we go see those caves not far from here? You know how there's that big cliff thingy. Well, supposedly there are caves that lead into it if you walk towards the village. You know the one everyone went to the other day. It sounds sooo cool. So can we go Sasuke? Please?"

"I don't see why not. Who else is coming then?"

"I was thinking maybe…just me and you could go. Cause, like, we haven't really spent all that much time together; just us. If you don't wanna…"

"Of course I want to. I just thought that you'd want others there. You usually do."

"Oh…well not today. Today I just want you." Naruto replied with a grin. Sasuke raised a delicate eyebrow…

"Hn, you want me do you?"

Naruto's grin disappeared and a soft blush slowly spread over his cheeks. He giggled lightly – faking a shyness that he didn't possess – before kissing the tip of Sasuke's nose. He looked down onto the pale boys' collar bone before letting his eyes wonder up to stare at his boyfriends face again while his eye lids stayed somewhat where they were; causing Sasuke to see only a flash of cerulean through golden lashes. It looked amazing – emphasized greatly by the splash of pink that tinged the younger boys' cheeks; he looked edible in the Uchiha's eyes.

"I do." He whispered huskily. Yes; Naruto loved to flirt, and Sasuke certainly wasn't complaining as he subsequently brought a hand up from the Jinchuuriki's waist to the back of the boys head and forced their lips to lock.

"Oye…Love birds! Get your arses out here! Breakfast's ready!" Kiba's words cut through their kiss and they both looked at each other, wondering if it was them the dog lover was addressing from outside the tents.

"Naruto!"

Yes…it was them.

* * *

"Phew…I sure am stuffed now, eh Sasuke?"

"Hn, dobe."

"Whatever, teme!"

The two lovers walked peacefully through the forest. The directions they had been given by Sakura and Ino were simple enough; go towards the village until you see the entrance of the cave…it'll be on your left. So that's where they found themselves half an hour later; standing in front of a large entrance to what appeared to be their destination…water trickled down the surface of the rough rocks. The greenery from the forest behind them sprinkled into the crevice. Flowers of all shapes and sizes spurted from between the slick stones. It was a sigh to see.

Naruto registered that he was feeling slightly queasy but ignored it and instead grinned at the opening; obviously glad they had reached their target.

"Come on Teme! Let's go inside!" He exclaimed to – a somewhat less enthusiastic – Sasuke as he pointed a slim index finger towards the black hole.

Sasuke shook his head before demanding that Naruto fetch him a stick. Naruto looked positively furious at the request.

"I aint a dog asshole! And I'm not you're slave, if you want something then get it yourself."

"Naruto," He sighed, "just get the stick." Sasuke replied evenly – his voice showing how serious he was and seemingly unaffected by his boyfriends anger. This, however, only served to make Naruto more agitated.

"I told you! Get. It. Yourself." Naruto huffed and turned away; his head held high and he arms crossed defiantly across his - puffed out – chest, pout firmly set in place.

"I can't dobe."

"Oh and why can't the almighty Uchiha pick up a stick? Is it too unclean for your highness?"

Sasuke snorted. "No. Actually, unless you plan to walk through that cave in the dark then we'll need some light. The stick is to light. I can't hold it because then it would render me unable to perform the hand signs for Katon no Jutsu. You know? To light it."

"…oh."

* * *

Ino giggled at her friends' statement. She and Sakura sat on the forest floor behind her tent – it had been too warm to be inside so the two chose to bask in a trees shadow that loomed just behind the small house. The blonde was enjoying her time away immensely…she couldn't remember the last time her and Sakura had spoken so much!

"Oh gosh Sakura! Where have your manners gone!" She spoke through giggles.

"Hmm I dunno…maybe Tsunade beat them out of me with all her hard ass training!"

The two broke out in laughter again before falling into a comfortable silence for a few moments to catch their breath. Ino lay on her stomach watching her pink haired friend as she panted, sprawled out on her back on the warm grass. The sight brought a smile to her pink lips.

"Hey…Sakura?" She was slightly nervous about her question; it shone through her voice.

"Yes?"

"How can…What do…What does it feel like…To have somebody to love?"

Sakura paused as she tried to find the right words to explain it…love.

"It-it feels nice. Warm and fuzzy - I can't believe you just asked me that -" Sakura giggled, "I guess its just amazing; even the bad parts, cause it's not all good you know Ino. Sometimes love hurts."

"…like Naruto and Sasuke?"

Sakura nodded.

"Like Naruto and Sasuke."

* * *

"Geez you were right, Sasuke! It isn't very bright in here. And it's wet."

"Stop complaining idiot. You were the one who wanted to come here."

"I know. It's nice though." Naruto said quietly and squeezed Sasuke's hand tighter. The gesture made the Raven's heart ach and burst at the same time. He let a tiny smile cross his lips; aware and satisfied that it went unseen in the small light. He let his dark eyes wander over the figure at his side…Naruto's image shimmered before his eyes as the flame flickered. His face was lit with an orange-yellow hue; he glowed. The Uchiha's mouth watered and he silently craved to touch the oblivious boy before him. Refraining from jumping his boyfriend, Sasuke tore his gaze away from the blond only to spot something in the distance as the two rounded a thin corner; a light…a natural one.

"Hey look Naruto! We're nearing the end of the cave."

"Ooooh! Lets go!"

Naruto took off running through the dark, cold, wet and unpleasant – in Sasuke's mind anyway – cave; only stopping when he found the source of the light. It seems the cave had followed through the land all the way to the waterfall; as that is where they stood now - behind the powerful rush of water. Naruto's eyes widened. All around the large hole, where cracks began and reached well behind the two and into the seemingly never-sending darkness, were beautiful exotic flowers and the greenest plants you could find. A hesitant tanned hand reached out to touch the thundering liquid but was stopped by a stronger, paler hand.

"Don't touch it. It'll hurt you."

Sasuke took Naruto's hand in his and pulled the blond boy close; wrapping his arms around the smaller teen and burying his face in the golden locks. He took in the scent of his lover before pulling back and placing a soft chaste kiss of the boys' supple lips. Naruto sighed contently at the gesture and Sasuke pulled away slightly – creating a small space between them. It seemed this did not bode well for Naruto. He snapped his lust-filled eyes up and smirked in the sexiest way. Sasuke's breath caught as Naruto's lips locked onto his neck…working his tongue in the most enjoyable way over his sensitive skin. The Uchiha pushed their bodies back into contact and the two stumbled into a damp wall.

-lemon-

Sasuke let his head fall back against the wall and began to enjoy the after-glow, but only for a few seconds before his hearing came back and the Uchiha became acutely aware of the horrible retching sounds that were coming from next to him.

Turning his head to see what was happening; he wasn't pleased at what he saw; Naruto was on all fours and was emptying his stomach of his breakfast. Sasuke closed is eyes and turned away, forcing himself to dress. When he was done he found that Naruto had finished as well. The blond now sat on his knees, trembling…he couldn't believe it…of all the times to have to throw up; it just had to be then. It was safe to say Naruto was extremely embarrassed. His face lit red and he tried to hide himself into the wall…he was unsuccessful. Sasuke carefully approached his boyfriend who sat shaking against the wall.

"Naruto?"

The blond sniffled.

"Naruto are you ok?"

"Y-yes," Naruto tried to make himself sound alright; he really did try. But Sasuke noticed immediately that the jinchuuriki was upset. The raven sighed as he gracefully fell beside his lover…the younger male turned his face away – hiding behind his blond bangs.

"You don't sound ok…"

"I…I'm sorry, Sasuke. I…r-ruined everything. I just…I couldn't."

The Uchiha recognized that his love was distressed and cautiously took the smaller boy into his arms. Hushing the teen and trying to calm him down.

"You didn't ruin anything…shhhhh…don't worry about it dobe, it'll be alright….don't cry, hush love…"

Naruto felt so safe wrapped up in the raven's arms, he felt warm and cozy, and most of all happy. His sobs stopped and he was left to sniffing slightly as he broke apart from Sasuke a little – still in the others arms- to look at his face. Sasuke took one look at his boyfriends face and actually let some colour seep into his cheeks – Naruto still had some of his come on his cheek. Feeling slightly turned on and slightly disgusted by the sight he chose to reach one of his hands up and wipe the white substance off of his gorgeous blond, he let his hand stay there after the mess had been cleaned and Naruto leaned into the touch.

"I didn't mean to…it just came up again," He said slowly, trying to apologize again.

"Naruto…when were you last sick? It was only yesterday morning wasn't it?"

Naruto looked away from his boyfriends deep gaze…finding a smooth pebble nearby suddenly extremely interesting.

"…no."

"When?"

"This morning…it woke me."

"…"

Sasuke wasn't sure what to say; truthfully he hadn't the slightest idea why Naruto was behaving so strangely. First the strange moods; for instance, Naruto would never shed tears in front of anyone for such a trivial matter and yet here he was showing such a weak emotion. The sickness was a huge deal too; never had the boy been sick in his entire life, not I'll, he had never ever caught a cold.

"I want you to go and see Tsunade, as soon as we return."

Naruto was about to nod in agreement was a familiar voice bellowed at him not to.

'_**No**__**! Kit, do not go to her. Do not go and see Tsunade!'**_

'_Why not?'_

'_**Because I said so…I will deal with this. Do not involve her or let her near your body right now. You are not right. I will deal.'**_

'_but…'_

'_**Naruto!'**_

Naruto frowned and Sasuke noticed the change in expression; he knew immediately the cause.

"What is that fox saying?"

"She…She doesn't want me to see Tsunade. I think she's serious. I can't let Baa-chan check me up."

Sasuke growled, "I want you fixed. If you won't let her check you up then at least go and see her…tell her your state and see what she thinks could be the cause."

'_Kyuu?'_

'…_**Alright. But I will not allow her near your body. If she tries I will emerge and tell her personally.'**_

"Kay. I'll do that, Sasuke." Sasuke sighed at the resolve; it wasn't quite what he had in mind but it would do in the meantime. The last Uchiha stood – smiling slightly – from his position. He grabbed a curious-looking Naruto and lifted him from the ground and into his arms…they began to leave to cave after picking up their 'torch'.

"H-hey! Teme! Put me down!" A furiously blushing Naruto yelled, though he barely struggled against the others firm, protective grasp.

* * *

"Say…what do you think will happen with those two anyways?" Ino continued as Sakura went quiet; it hurt her to think about what would happen if Sasuke did indeed leave the blond. She cared deeply for both of them and would hate to see them harmed; physically or emotionally. When Ino realized she wasn't going to get an answer she probed her friend some more.

"I mean…Will Sasuke actually leave him. Could he actually do that to Naruto…"

"To himself."

"What?"

"He can't do it to himself."

"Meaning..?"

"Sasuke is a selfish person. I don't believe that he will leave Naruto because it would hurt him to do so."

"But doesn't he also want kids?"

"Yes, but I don't think he will be able to prize himself from Naruto."

"Oh right…hmm, ok…I get what you're saying."

Sakura giggled, "I'm no mind reader…I really don't want them to split so maybe I'm just wishing; hoping that my words are true. I could just be fooling myself."

The two best friends had entered Ino's tent now, since the weather had cooled somewhat, and a slight breeze had stirred.

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Did you hear? Gaara's got a kid!"

"…Are you kidding?"

"No! Not at all. I heard he chose some random pretty girl off the street and knocked her up just so that he could get an heir."

"But, I thought…Neji?"

"Yeh, that's exactly what I thought too, but maybe they weren't. I mean they never actually said that they were together."

"Come to think of it…wasn't Neji supposed to be coming with us?"

"Oh yeh, he cancelled at the last minute though. Hinata told us. Actually…it was the same day that word got around of Gaara's kid. That's probably why you hadn't heard 'cause we left that day."

Sakura got an evil smirk…it may seem cruel to think of such things with a smile on her face, but Sakura really did care. She just loved to gossip and find out dirty secrets that nobody else knew.

"Wanna know what I think?"

"Yes! It might be what I'm thinking too!"

"I think. Maybe Neji and Gaara fell out or something. Split up and to get over it, Gaara wanted a child." Ino pondered over her friend's words…

"That could be it…I was thinking it could be to cover up what's going on between them."

"Oh! Yeh…it could be."

"Hmm…We'll need to investigate."

"Well…supposedly Gaara's got a trip here soon, something to do with ally relations or something. Tsunade told me herself that they had organized a meeting and it is to be in Konoha. I hope he stays for a while. He has all the other times."

"Yeh…and he happened to hang out with Neji a lot; in private."

The girls had just burst into a fit of giggles when they heard the return of their friends; Naruto and Sasuke. The two made eye contact and seemed to silently agree to stay inside some more before going out for dinner. Besides; they weren't very hungry. Sakura couldn't help thinking that the pains in her stomach weren't normal, but chose not to fuss over it yet.

* * *

The evening passed quickly with small talk – mostly about Gaara and his new heir – and food and resulted in tired teens retreating for the night earlier than expected. Naruto had retreated especially early and Sasuke had followed him to make sure nothing was wrong.

As he entered the small chamber he saw the small tufts of blond peeking out from under the sleeping bag. He quickly got undressed and followed his boyfriends lead. He gazed at Naruto's sleeping face, lightly touching his cheek or his nose. He couldn't believe how soft the jinchuuriki made him and he hated the thought of Naruto being ill.

He hated the thought of leaving his lover even more and the mere crossing of it through his head made him cringe. He had decided to leave the blond once and for all after this trip. And the immediate response of everything in his body had told him "No!"

He hated this…torturing himself like this. But this would be the last time because he had agreed no matter what that he would leave the boy after this holiday. The raven felt warmth pool in his eyes and immediately closed them; he would not cry again – that was weak.

But then he was hit with a sudden burst of happiness, his eyes shot open at the realization…

'_Naruto is ill! I can't leave Naruto while he is Ill, he could be dying'_ Though Sasuke very much doubted it _'and I would, at least, have to see him through till the end! So I won't leave him at the end of this week because we need to find out what's wrong with him before I can do that.'_

A small smile crept onto his pale face and he placed a lingering kiss on the tip of his dobe's nose – making the boy crinkle his nose up and pout in his sleep. Sasuke closed his obsidian eyes again and let slumber claim him.

But not long after, both him and Naruto – and the rest of the camp – were awoken by a loud pained scream. The blond bolted upright, holding the sheets close to his body; his eyes wide and frightened. Sasuke however, took a mere moment to recognise that it wasn't the end of the world and took his time to listen for another noise…which he found a few seconds later. The second scream was more like a moan but it was cracking from the obvious discomfort the person was in.

"S-Sasuke..?" The raven turned to his boyfriend – Naruto was awake and alert now; having gotten over his initial shock.

"Isn't that…Sakura?"

"…shit."

It took a few more minutes for the couple to get dressed before they were in Lee and Sakura's tent. Said girl was on her back screaming in agony as she held her stomach…crying to go home to see Tsunade.

"Lee! Fuck! Get me home, Lee! I need Tsunade! My baby!"

Naruto gaped at the scene…ouch…it must be painful to have a baby. The sweat was rolling off of her face. The pains seemed to come in waves, she would sit calmly for a moment panting and then the pain came back full force.

"Sasuke? Is she…" Naruto managed in a weak voice. This kind of stuff scared the shit out of him…Sakura seemed angrier than she normally was in a bad mood.

"Yeh. I'd say she's coming into labor; those are definitely contractions. Lee. You should get her to Tsunade as soon as possible. I don't think she'd be happy to have her baby here."

"Y-yes." The poor green-clad boy replied from behind his girlfriend; she had her head on his lap. By this time everyone had gathered and each agreed to help get her home. A few would need to stay behind to gather all their equipment, but it would take more than one person to get her home quickly.

Naruto immediately wanted to go with her, as did the other girls. After debating the topic they all agreed that those to go with her would be; Lee, Naruto, Ino and Kakashi. While Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata and Iruka would stay behind.

"God damn it! Hurry the fuck up! Do you have any idea what I am going through!"

* * *

**Another chapter! I hope it was good. Poor Sakura…She's in for a long night R&R Xx..xX**


	8. Long night

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**I got a comment on the last chapter saying that maybe Naruto's friends would realize that he was pregnant, since it might seem obvious. But I really don't think that would be the case; as if you can imagine being a friend of Naruto, I don't think you would ever presume that he was pregnant because he is a boy. Even though he is gay; he still shouldn't be able to be impregnated. Even with Kyuubi; people wouldn't automatically realize that she might have done anything to him. But maybe that's just me…hehe**

**Well, on with the chapter…**

* * *

The small group rushed through the brightly lit – overly white – hallways. Sasuke frowned at the strong scent of disinfectant; he hated hospitals. They had hurried to get here…Kiba, Hinata and Iruka that is. Sasuke hadn't made any effort to rush. He knew that having a baby took hours and Sakura would most likely still be in the room for the rest of the night. Not that any one else took into consideration what he thought on the matter. They were all too busy rushing.

They turned down another isle and found themselves faced with their companions; Naruto, Kakashi and Ino were all sitting on two benches at opposite sides of the hallway. Sasuke calmly took a seat next to his boyfriend. The blond smiled a small smile but Sasuke could tell it wasn't genuine. Naruto was worried. Not that Sasuke could really say anything on the matter; he was slightly concerned as well. He and Sakura got on well now and it would not be good if she was to get hurt.

"Where's Lee?" Kiba questioned as he sat down with Hinata at the other side of Sasuke.

"Oh, um, he's in there with Sakura."

"…ok." The sickeningly bright corridor was sent into silence as the people sat there thinking silently to themselves. This was exactly why Sasuke hadn't wanted to hurry. He hated thinking…it made him angsty and depressed. Sounds of yelling and mumbling could be heard from behind the large doors at the end of the hall. It didn't take long for the Hokage to burst through with a very agitated Rock Lee being dragged behind. Tsunade made little work of placing the unruly teenager in his seat and fleeing back through the larger doors.

Rock Lee stood up and was about to rush after the older lady when a hand reached out and grabbed him. The startled teenager looked into Ino's simple blue eyes before be tried to yank her hands away from him.

"Lee, please calm down! When you're in this state it's a danger for you to be through there. This is for your own good!"

"Let me go Ino! I must stay by my precious Sakura's side! I must be with her!"

"Please stop it!"

"No!" Lee bawled as he struggled out of his friends grasp. Ino gasped and tried to catch him but she was beaten to it by a raven. Sasuke looked at Lee with slight sympathy but would not move out of the way for the boy to get past.

"Uchiha Sasuke! Step out of my way! I must! I must get to my Sakura!"

"Calm down, Lee, you're only hurting yourself! We all understand, but look at the state you're in. Get a hold of yourself." He said calmly. Lee didn't take his words kindly.

"Understand? Understand?!" He started as he ripped the raven's hands off his green shirt. "You will not ever understand Uchiha! Never! You will not ever understand what it feels like to have to wait while the one you love suffers to bring joy and youth to this world!" Sasuke could tell where this was going – the look of anger on the livid man's face told him so - and took a quick glance at Naruto; the boy was staring at the floor but was obviously listening, as everyone else was.

"You will not ever understand! The only time you will ever stand in my shoes is when you are awaiting the birth of your oh-so-great-Uchiha-heir! But even then you will not care what happens to the women behind those doors! She will most likely be more of a stranger than someone to care about, so worthy of your great standards!" Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to drown out the words as they fell upon him without mercy.

"The only one worthy of Uchiha Sasuke's love is himself! You truly do not care about the feelings of your fellow men and women! You are the most selfish person I have ever met and Naruto-" A hard slap interrupted the rest of Lee's speech, flinging his head to the side ruthlessly. Lee took a few moments to calm his thundering heart and panting lungs; the angry lecture had taken a lot out of him. He turned his head back around to face the enraged, pale indigo eyes that bore holes through him at that very moment.

"Sit down!" Ino hissed through clenched teeth and Lee knew he had been wrong. Perhaps not wrong in what he had said or who he had said it to; but where he had said it and who had been forced to hear it. He refrained from turning to see what Naruto's reaction was; Sasuke still had his own eyes closed, Lee could see from the corner of his eyes.

"My apologies." He said quietly before taking a seat next to Iruka. He wasn't sorry for what he had said and he had a feeling everyone knew that. Sasuke also took his seat; letting his elbows rest on his knees as he clasped his hands before his lips. He was not feeling well. All he wanted now was to go home and sleep the rest of the night away, he was already tired and now he was torn with emotion. He was angry, sad, concerned, depressed and relieved at what was conspiring as well as simply shocked.

A light whisper broke his thoughts and he slowly turned his head to Naruto. The boy's eyes seemed dull yet they sparkled more in the light – or perhaps it wasn't the light, but tears that he would not allow to shed. Sasuke wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked silently. It was surprising really; how just one sentence could rip your heart out. He could feel his own tears stinging at his dark orbs. How could Naruto ask him that? When He, himself, knew that everyone else in the room was only wondering what Naruto was feeling, the blond had the audacity to care about Sasuke; through his own heartache the little ball of sunshine actually put his boyfriend before himself.

Sasuke could do nothing but give a slight nod, which Naruto seemed happy with as his entire face lit up. He smiled beautifully and it made Sasuke's heart throb. He turned away from his lover, trying to get his calmness back. Naruto took hold of one of his hands, untangled it and held it with his own between the two boys. Sasuke wanted nothing more than to cry.

* * *

Kakashi watched as the teenagers slept soundlessly. The only one of them still awake was Rock Lee, who, thankfully, had calmed down now. In his lap rested a peaceful Iruka, the masked Jounin smiled down at his lover. He thanked his luck that he was happily in love. He did however, have a problem; Sasuke. His dolphin had asked his to speak with the boy and though he had done that…he was sure his lover had wanted results and Kakashi wasn't sure if he could get any. Truthfully he believed that Sasuke had made up his mind and would not change it, sadly.

Looking over at he pair – Sasuke was leaning against the wall and Naruto was draped over him, a leg thrown over Sasuke's and his blond clad head resting against the ravens shoulder - Kakashi wouldn't dream of wishing their relationship to come to an end. But then again, Kakashi knew that in real life there was no such thing as a happy ending.

He changed his train of thought to the incident that had occurred five hours or so ago. Ino had shown her determination and strength as well as her maturity and intelligence in the way she had handled the situation. Though, whilst everyone else thought she had been helping Naruto by putting a stop to Lee's antics, Kakashi knew the truth; she had stopped him more for Sasuke's sake. He looked at the slumbering blond at his side and frowned at her predicament.

He knew that she was no longer in love with Sasuke. It had been a hormonal crush that had worn out shortly after he had left the village many years ago. But recently…whist on the camping holiday and some time before that…they had been spending more time together. He had noticed when they had all been away but now that he thought about it he remembered seeing them together frequently throughout the last few weeks. He knew that Ino had become a close friend to Sasuke. She was a dedicated friend and the silver haired man thought a bond like that was one Sasuke was in desperate need of. He needed to learn how to depend on others – and not just Naruto.

Speaking of which; Naruto's strange behavior had been worrying Iruka for a few days prior to the trip and the sickness he had been experiencing doubled his lovers concern. Not that Kakashi was uncaring of the situation. He just thought that perhaps Iruka was overreacting. Any normal person in Naruto's position – what with his troubled relationship regarding Sasuke as well as his Kyuubi problems and becoming Hokage – would obviously be pressured and stress is instinctual, even though Naruto wasn't exactly normal when it came to emotion and feelings; he was actually expected to show more reactions in cases. Well…So Kakashi thought anyway.

The sickness wasn't a huge threat either; sure, Naruto hadn't ever been sick before. That wasn't a reason to presume he was dying. Kyuubi might have simply decided not to help him out for once. Personally, Kakashi thought his boyfriend and Naruto's were making far too much trouble out of nothing. The Jounin was convinced that it would all blow over and be forgotten.

'_Hmmm…what time is it?'_ He asked himself silently. How long had they been here? _'Nine, ten hours?'_ And Kakashi was certain they had taken at least three extra hours to get here. She had come into labor a full twelve hours ago at least. He wondered if something had gone wrong; he knew nothing of pregnancy or the time it should take but he ruled out the chances of something bad happening; Tsunade was there so it would be fine.

Supposedly – according to Ino – Sakura had demanded, as soon as she arrived, that The Hokage was to be her midwife. They had been forced to drag the grouchy woman from her bed to which she was seething. It had been expected and therefore destruction had been to a lesser degree. And the woman was in there now…dealing with Sakura's pregnancy…_'poor Sakura'_

Kakashi turned to face Kiba as the boy groaned his awakening. He and Hinata were sat next to Naruto and Sasuke; they hadn't moved since they arrived. The girl had seemed very sleepy and she had dozed off not too long after they had gotten here; completely missing the argument as she had slept soundlessly through it. When Kiba came back to life, he adjusted himself to be more comfortable, careful not to wake his girlfriend who was leaning on him – her head on his shoulder and her back against the wall.

"Uhhmn, man…what's the time?" He yawned, keeping his voice low for their sleeping companions.

"I'm not sure." Kakashi replied in a cool tone which told Kiba he wasn't really interested.

"God, I'm starved!" he whispered exasperatedly.

"We should go to the cafeteria they have here. It's open all the time and I'm rather hungry too."

"Yeh lets go." Kiba gently pushed Hinata's head off of him and watched as it lolled to the other side; she sniffled but didn't move. Iruka was harder to keep asleep and he frowned when Kakashi tried to lift his head up off his knee. He whispered to his lover that he was just going for food and Iruka seemed to accept the answer as he let his boyfriend leave, resting his head onto the hard bench instead of a warm lap.

It took them a long while to find the cafeteria, especially through all those halls which looked exactly the same to both men. The canteen was perhaps the only room in the entire building that wasn't completely white; it was a light blue colour and cream, it was very large and had tables and chairs scattered throughout. It also didn't smell like bleach…it smelt like food, which made the two boys even hungrier. Judging by the amount of people in the room – two others - Kiba gathered that it must have been very late or very early, depending on how you saw it.

Kiba let him know what he wanted and Kakashi approached the cashier; a small, plump woman who looked very sour. He ordered tea for himself and Kiba, who had taken a seat at small table-for-two, as well as miso soup for himself and Sashimi for the dog lover. The woman didn't say anything, just demanded the money before strutting off though a thin door that presumably led to the kitchen. Kakashi sat at their table and scanned the room for a clock…

"8.37am." He groaned as he laid eyes on the dreaded time.

Kakashi was shattered. He hadn't slept a wink, he and Iruka hadn't been asleep when Sakura had come into labor and he hadn't been able to sleep on those waiting chairs; they were far too uncomfortable, plus…it was rather cold.

It didn't take long for the grouchy waitress to serve them the food and they ate in peace, relatively quiet as neither had anything to say and were ultimately far too tired to engage in much social actions. The two had never really spoken before either. Sure…they had talked vaguely but never really gotten to know each other. Kakashi, truthfully, preferred to keep himself private. Not like Iruka who enjoyed others company a little too much; in the Jounin's opinion.

From what he could tell the dog lover was somewhat wild and seemed rather like Naruto in many ways; he could see why the two got along. But Kiba seemed slightly less enthusiastic.

Once finished, they made their way calmly back to the group – in no hurry to return to their sleeping companions. As they returned, however, they discovered that they seemed to have missed something. Everyone was awake and seemed alert. It took Kakashi a mere moment to realize that Rock Lee was not in the hall. That probably meant Sakura was finished. _'Thank god'_ he though with a sigh as he slumped down beside Iruka.

The Hokage emerged from the doors a few minutes later and looked especially grumpy; Kakashi would not have approached her in any case but he wasn't an Uchiha. He watched as the raven dragged a foggy Naruto – he was still half asleep – over to Tsunade before the two began talking…the woman's scowl becoming worse by the second. Of course, he didn't miss the flicker of worry that ran through her hazel eyes for the briefest of moments and knew immediately what they were discussing.

* * *

Naruto sat, waiting for the first question. He didn't mind being questioned; rather liked it in fact…strange. He wasn't sure what she would ask but knew that he could answer her questions. The woman would only ask about his health any way. He missed Sasuke. Even after only ten minutes he already was missing his lover. Tsunade had ordered the other boy out as soon as they had entered her office. She had realized that the Uchiha would most likely answer for his boyfriend frequently and didn't want that.

"So…what exactly is it that's wrong with you this time, brat?" Tsunade enquired as she turned her face up from the papers on her desk. She had been filling them in since they entered – Naruto had no idea why she would do that considering how tired she must be.

"Well…I dunno really. I've gotten sick."

"Sick?"

"Uhuh. And I keep acting weird. I can't control my feelings sometimes…it's weird."

"Oh…Kay. And how many times have you been sick?"

"Um…three."

"How frequently?"

"Well I was sick twice yesterday and once the day before."

"So it's sudden?"

"Yeh…we were drinking the night before so maybe…" He trailed off; she understood what he was saying but highly doubted that this was caused by alcohol consumption.

"Have you experienced anything like this in the past? No?" Naruto shook his head.

"Didn't think so…" The blonde placed her had in her hands and thought for a few moments…running through all the possibilities related to his symptoms. She was happy to say that none seemed dangerous, unless he had an STD which she highly doubted. Not only was that extremely uncommon in this part of the world but she also knew that neither he nor Sasuke had been with other people whilst in their relationship. At least…she hoped not. Tsunade frowned.

"Naruto…Have you…recently have you or Sasuke…Whilst having sex, experienced anything different or strange?" Naruto cocked a brow but didn't say anything stupid; he was far too tired to argue with the hag.

"Well…it depends what you mean by 'recently'."

"In the past…say…one or two months?" Naruto shook his head but then frowned…

"Actually – Man, I hate talking to you about this – about a month ago or something…Me and Kyuubi got into an argument and she did something to me. She said she was punishing me for not listening to her but she seemed unsure…"

"And what happened?"

"Well…Sasuke came home from an ANBU mission and as soon as he saw me he went all lusty. Like, really, really bad. We must have had sex ten times that night and he wouldn't let us leave the house the next day. I dunno what she did to make him so horny but god! I was seriously aching the next day!" Tsunade just raised an eyebrow, snorted something about releasing norepinehprine and continued questioning.

"Have you had a change in diet?"

"Erm…nope. I haven't eaten any ramen since we left though…I really need to get some; I've been craving."

"What has _she _said about this?" Naruto immediately knew she was talking about Kyuu. He had realized that there was a lot of history with Kyuubi that most didn't know about. Of course, nobody had told him of it he had just noticed the small things. He was sure that Tsunade had known the fox personally before his birthday.

"Well… she told me she'd take care of it and not to let you check me up. That's all."

"Well I can't really say what's wrong with you, brat. But I'll keep an eye on you and look into what it could be."

"Can I go in and see Sakura now?"

"Well…she won't be awake. Perhaps it would be better to get some rest for now and see her later on. Everybody's tired."

"I guess so. Is it a girl or a boy?!"

Tsunade laughed. "It's a girl. They've named her Tifa and she has her mother's emerald eyes, though they are rather like her father's shape wise. She also has her father's dark hair. She is cute and healthy. You can see her tomorrow as well. For now I'm ordering you home, just like I did to everyone else." And with that the Hokage scooted a groaning Naruto out of the room where he met an anxious – though he would never admit to it – Sasuke.

"What did she say?" Naruto sighed.

"She said I'd be fine," he lied slightly, "that she'd check me later and see if she could find something, but she doesn't know." Sasuke frowned but said no more. They left towards the Uchiha estate, both silent as they walked the morning streets. There were few people beginning to open shops and stalls but none that Naruto recognized personally.

Sasuke was not pleased at the answer he had gotten and continued brooding as they entered their home. He wanted to know what was wrong with his dobe; he hated to see the boy like this. But in the back of his mind he was pleased for this break since it meant he could stay longer with his lover. He knew he was selfish, that's why he didn't care. He heard the blond yawn and automatically turned to look at him. It was then that he realized they had reached the bedroom and were both stripped; he had been zoning out – he did that often when brooding.

Naruto was about to slip under the soft sheets when Sasuke grabbed him by the wrist, tugging him back up and into his embrace. Naruto grunted and pushed him away. Sasuke was slightly hurt but didn't show it; Naruto always liked to touch and cuddle, no matter how sleepy he was.

"I just wanna go to sleep, Teme! Leave me alone!" The jinchuuriki snapped, unaware of the sad eyes that watched as he got into bed and turned his back. The Uchiha tried not to let the comment bother him, but it was hard. He knew that it was only because Naruto was having worse mood swings than a teenage girl at the moment but he still didn't like it. He wondered if Naruto felt like this when Sasuke snapped at him.

Climbing into bed beside his lover, Naruto was already on his way to slumber; Sasuke ran pale, slender fingers down his boyfriend's cheek, watching with a smile as the boy turned to nuzzle the hand. He brought himself closer until he had the blond in his arms - the younger of the two welcoming the contact and immediately snuggling into Sasuke's chest as he drifted to sleep. Sasuke's eyes also closed in rest moments later and he fell into a deep slumber hoping he wouldn't wake to the sound of Naruto emptying his stomach. The Uchiha wouldn't be so lucky.

* * *

**Well…I know it's short but I wanted to update and it seemed like a good time since I'll be rather busy in the next week and didn't want to keep you guys waiting. I will try my hardest to get another chapter on its way soon! R&R Xx..xX**


	9. An Interesting Discovery

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**As usual, Lemon links on my page.**

* * *

The shuffling of fabric moving on skin, the rustles and creaks as the bed shifts with loss of weight, the pounding of fast, heavy feet hitting the floor, the sound of a door swinging open strong enough to bang against the wall; the sounds of Naruto every morning.

Sasuke Uchiha never got a good nights rest anymore. Even then, as he sat up in bed and watched the open door for his lover to return, he could here Naruto in the bathroom, doing what he did every day. It almost always woke them up. The sickness. The urgency of it required that the blond didn't think about Sasuke, who likes to sleep late on days like this – and every other day too – when he isn't due for a mission. No, this selfish whatever-it-is always decided to drag his boyfriend away at the worst possible times. Sasuke hated it.

A good thing was though, that in the two months which had passed since Naruto's sickness started, his temperament had actually relaxed. He was much calmer now and the mood swings came rarely. Sasuke supposed he was getting better. Though he couldn't speak of it as normal for his blond boyfriend to act calm.

Naruto stumbled through the door again and flopped down on the comforter. He was very pale and stank of sickness. He felt it too, the burning the in the back of his throat. He groaned as he buried his head on Sasuke's chest. Sasuke groaned too as he let his body fall back down onto the bed. They would get up now. They always did.

"Hey Sasuke? Is it tonight that Gaara's arriving?"

"Yeh." They were having a party for the sand siblings. It was just an excuse really; to party. Sasuke didn't want to go but Naruto was adamant. The blond always got his way when he was like that.

"What time is it?" he moaned before letting a long yawn escape him. Sasuke wasn't sure that he wanted to know, but nevertheless he turned his head to the alarm clock at the side of his luxury bed.

6.27

"Its half past six, let's get up." It wasn't as if Sasuke wanted to get up. He just didn't like to lay awake in bed and there was no way he would get to sleep after listening to what Naruto had just done. Sasuke often felt very selfish; he cared so much for his sleep that he would forget how bad it must have been for Naruto.

Naruto was the first to the kitchen – after racing Sasuke to the shower and putting clothes on – and he felt rather proud. Just as he was about to grab his breakfast, the doorbell rang. After shouting 'just coming,' though he was sure they wouldn't hear him from nearly the opposite side of the mansion, he ran to the door and hastily unlocked it before swinging It open to reveal who would be at the house at such a time in the morning.

"Hello, Brat." Tsunade started cheerfully. "I took into consideration your condition and decided that now would be an appropriate time to invite myself to your home. I hope I didn't wake you up; you did say that you were usually woken up around this time anyways."

"Oh no! I was already awake. Come in old hag! I'm just making myself breakfast, do you want something?" He spoke as he led the older blonde through the beautiful house.

"No thanks I just stopped by to see how you were." Truthfully she had come to check up on Naruto inconspicuously. It unnerved her how ill he was and that it was ongoing, yet she had never seen anything quite like it. It seemed to be just a bug, but the changes in his personality were strange. She had hoped to pick up on other symptoms whilst she was visiting.

The kitchen was rather basic; a large breakfast bar in the centre, large windows leading out into the porch at the back and a hue of blacks and whites on the appliances made the room look lavish as well as very clean. Tsunade took a seat at the bar and watched the boy as he prepared something to eat. She saw him gather a mixture of foods before he turned to her and said…

"Don't tell Sasuke, ok? He doesn't like it when I eat stuff like this so shhh."

The Hokage didn't see anything wrong with what he had in front of him; it seemed perfectly alright, perhaps not for breakfast but she certainly didn't se anything wrong with the food. That is until she saw what he did to it. Her mouth opened slightly as she watched Naruto scoop out a fair amount of chocolate ice cream before emptying the contents of a bottle, which she now saw to be tomato ketchup, atop it. After this she saw him open a cupboard and remove a tub of pickles from it. Tsunade swore she was going to hurl if he even thought about putting that on ice cream. Sure enough, Naruto took out a fair amount of sliced pickles and spread them neatly on top of his 'breakfast.'

The Hokage watched in amazement as the blond took his plate to the breakfast bar and began to eat it; using the pickles to scoop ice cream and tomato sauce into his mouth. The two built up a few conversations but Tsunade found it hard to ignore the smell and look of what the jinchuuriki seemed to be enjoying. She was about to excuse herself as she couldn't stand watching such a thing any longer when she heard a rather annoyed voice from behind her.

"Naruto. I told you not to eat this shit any more!" Sasuke approached the younger boy and snatched the plate away, much to Naruto's distress.

"No! Sasuke! It's really good, you haven't even tried it!"

Sasuke took a fleeting glance at the stuff before dropping the plate into the kitchen sink.

"I do not need to 'try it' when any sane person can clearly see how disgusting it is! This is probably what's making you ill!" Sasuke yelled.

"I never ate it before I got Ill!"

"Well, it certainly isn't going to make things better, is it?"

"You don't know that! I like it. Why can't you just let me do what I want?" Tsunade was feeling increasingly uncomfortable as the two inched closer to one another, both screaming at the top of their voices. She'd seen them argue before and it always made her feel out of place; they seemed to forget anything else existed.

"That's because I want you to get better, not worse!"

"It's hardly going to make me worse, Sasuke! It has nothing bad in it!"

"God damn it, Naruto! Just do as I say!" By now the two were inches away from the other, their noses almost touching, and glaring heatedly.

"Fuck you! You can't just boss me around like that!"

"Yes I can and I will! As long as you're living in my house, eating my food, and sharing my bed I will tell you what you can and cannot do!" Naruto looked taken aback and for a moment just stared at his boyfriend before his eyes watered and he shook his head; trying to get rid of the worthless emotions his 'lover' had just made him feel.

"Fuck you, Uchiha!" Sasuke flinched and his heart beat faster as Naruto turned away from him, "I hate you!" He screamed before running away through the house, leaving Sasuke alone with the Hokage in the kitchen. Tsunade was not getting involved with this. She was far too busy running the scene over in her head. Something very odd was happening here and Tsunade was very bothered by it. A small voice in her head said that she had seen such behavior before, recently, but she pushed it away. Impossible.

"I think you should leave." Sasuke's voice held no emotion but Tsunade could see the pain behind his eyes. Naruto's comment had stung. She agreed wholeheartedly that she was now intruding so she quietly left the house. The Hokage would have said something to the Uchiha about telling the brat that she hoped he would get better, but she though better of it. In this situation it would be foolish.

Sasuke listened to the clapping of the woman's heels as she receded from the house and as soon as he heard the door close behind her he let out breath he wasn't aware of holding. He dejectedly took a seat. _'I hate you!' _Naruto's words repeated over and over in his head. It hurt. He knew it wasn't true. But it still hurt. He knew he had to fix this. What he had said had been out of line and he admitted that it was he who had caused the scene.

Sighing, he lifted himself from the dining stool and began the walk towards where he was sure the blond had gone. He traveled the halls slowly; trying to make as little noise as possible. He knew he was in the wrong. The entire morning he had been in a bad mood. Somewhere in his mind he knew it was because he did not want to go to that party. But he pushed it aside when he heard soft sniffling and whimpering from behind their bedroom door. The pang that nipped his chest further worsened his mood. He hated guilt and he hated himself for making Naruto cry.

He tapped at the door with his pale knuckles and, receiving no answer, opened the door and let his eyes sweep the room for Naruto. He spotted a blond mop of hair sticking out from behind the black bed. Cautiously, he made his way over to his boyfriend. The jinchuuriki had already realized he was present but still stiffened as the raven approached.

Sasuke kneeled on the ground beside his lover. The blond had his legs pulled up against his chest with his tan arms wrapped protectively around them. His head lowered into his knees and his body shook from sobs.

"Naruto?" Sasuke started quietly. Naruto sniffed.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I know things are hard for you right now and I guess I can put up with you eating those…concoctions…" Naruto didn't move or show any signs of replying so Sasuke continued.

"I didn't mean what I said, Naruto. I shouldn't have said it. It was wrong of me. Please forgive me?" The Uchiha asked, still whispering. The blond mop moved slightly and two shining cerulean eyes - red-rimmed from tears – were revealed. The raven felt a pang of pain in his chest as he watched the sad pools of blue wonder over him. He really hated making Naruto feel bad.

The blond didn't know what to say; he wanted to make up with Sasuke. He knew the bastard was telling the truth when he said he hadn't meant it but…it had still made him feel like shit. Like an object that was owned and could be thrown away whenever the older boy felt necessary. The jinchuuriki knew that wasn't what his boyfriend had meant when he had said those things. What he had said hadn't even been that bad. It had been degrading and had made him seem like he was unworthy but it hadn't been meant harshly. It hadn't been meant at all.

Naruto struggled before placing a light, wet kiss on the pale lips before him. Sasuke responded immediately by wrapping his arms around Naruto and pulling the boy's body close to him as Naruto wiped his tears away on Sasuke's blue shirt.

Desperately wanting to break the horrible tension that had gathered from the bicker, Sasuke tried to change the subject; "What time will we go to the party tonight?"

Naruto sniffled, "it starts at half seven so I guess around then. It's good that we got the day off."

"Yeh…I'm a little hungry, let's head back to the kitchen. I'll make you something since you didn't finish the last."

"…yeh…"

* * *

It was late. Sasuke knew that for certain…no doubt well after midnight. He was sitting in the living room; the television was on low volume and playing a rock music channel. It was in English, but it didn't matter, the words were unrecognizable either way. He was pissed, very pissed. If rage was visible then it would have rolled off him in waves and echoed through the house like a storm.

He had left the party early without Naruto – the blond had wanted to stay longer so he had come home alone – his thoughts had been mixed and still were. Gaara had been there; obviously. As had his siblings. He had met the redhead a few times upon his return to Konoha. They had not spoken much but when they had it was always deep. Both boys shared much in common. Though they had never spoken of their interests or thoughts, both knew how similar they were.

So every time they had spoken in the past they had been alone and it had been deep, depressing and extremely personal. The Uchiha had no idea how Gaara managed to pull his shell away; he supposed it had something to do with the boy's personality. He knew the information he told the former Jinchuuriki would not be repeated and he also knew that the redhead really didn't care about him – if anything he disliked him – but would give him advice or support, which, as strange as it was coming from Gaara, was extremely comforting.

This night had been no different.

He hadn't been drinking and Sasuke had grown bored of the party some time before they met. Gaara had appeared next to him in a flash and had merely indicated to the door before the two had escaped the large crowd of loud people and out into the streets of konohagakure.

The party had been held in one of the larger buildings in the village. The training dojo; where Gai and Lee were usually found, and where the preliminary round of the Chuunin exams was held(1). The building had been perfect for them and had been bursting with people from the moment Sasuke had arrived to the moment he left. Granted, the crowd had been somewhat more intoxicated when leaving but Sasuke didn't care. Besides, Naruto had seemed able enough to find his way home and that was all that mattered.

He had told Gaara of his conflicting emotions regarding the boyfriend and had expressed how they had gotten worse since their last encounter (his and the Kazekage's). Gaara had not said much but had nodded here and there throughout the explanation. Sasuke had shown little emotion either and both had seemed numb. To the eye one might have though they were merely discussing the weather.

Gaara though, had not given him advice – much to Sasuke's annoyance – but had told a story of his own, one that had intrigued Sasuke and had him feeling a slight pity for the redhead as well as a great rage. He remembered the kazekage's words clearly…

"_I have a son." Gaara had said, making Sasuke glimpse at him from the corner of his eye as they walked leisurely down the street._

"_He's a beautiful baby. I love him. But I also hate him." This had Sasuke's head snapping round to study the redhead. He was completely blank._

"_It is small and very far in the back of my heart but it is there; the hatred and resentment is there." He paused for a moment. "Me and Neji. We were together. I loved him. I Still do. But we're over now. It ended about a year ago, perhaps a little over a year. Everybody thinks Hiashi doesn't know. But he does…" Sasuke wondered what Gaara was talking about, but before he could ask the former Jinchuuriki spoke again. _

"_Hinata. Her relationship with Kiba. He knows. He found out about two years ago. He tried to persuade her to end it but she refused. He turned to Neji. Offered him the clan. Said he'd make Neji the heir as long as he would take Hanabi and procreate with her. Marry her. I didn't think Neji would do it. I believed he loved me more than the clan. But…" Sasuke fought the shiver that wracked his body…it was __really cold. _

"_It hurt. It hurt more than anything I have ever felt. That was when I realized I loved him. I still do. I felt like I couldn't breath, couldn't eat, couldn't live. The Sunagakure council had been pressing me to make babies for a while so I found a lovely looking girl. I got her pregnant and promised her everything she wanted. She took it. Now I have a son." _

"_Tonight," he said coldly and Sasuke wondered how he could have told such things with the blankness he always held, "He told me that he knew of the child. He was sad. He told me that he had planned to apologize for his behavior. That he was going to ask me to run away with him. To love him and be happy with him. He asked me if I would have said yes. I wanted to lie. To tell him that I hated him for what he had done and that I could never be happy with him again no matter the circumstances. But I couldn't. I told him 'yes'. I told him of my love for him and he told me of his. We went to one of the store cupboards earlier to express our love one last time." _

"_It hurt more than when he ended it. It hurt so much more to learn of my mistake. If I hadn't been so foolish as to think that I could get back at him by building a false family then we could have been together. I would have left Suna and I would have left everything and eve__rybody for him. I love my son. So I could never leave him. But I also hate him for taking away the one thing I love most in this world. Even if it is my fault. I'm hurting a lot right now for my mistakes and here you tell me about your hurt." Sasuke flinched at the blank tone. They had stopped walking and Gaara faced him with completely blank eyes. _

"_You tell me how much pain you are in for what you are going to do. It is your choice Uchiha. No matter how much you may feel otherwise. It is you who will be the one to end it. It is Naruto who will hurt more in the end. It is he who will wish for death more than anything just to stop the pain. Don't be so selfish." Sasuke grit his teeth, he despised people talking down to him, even Gaara. "You say it is for your family but I know they would want you to be happy. They wouldn't want you to sell your life out to keep the name Uchiha going. It. Is. Gone. Do not dwell on the past and selfishly hurt the one you love. You are meant to be a genius. Act like one." Before Sasuke had time to reply Gaara's body had turned to dust and vanished before his eyes, leaving him to walk home livid. _

The words still echoed in his mind; '_they would want you to be happy._' Sasuke closed his eyes and leant further into the seat. He didn't need this, he much preferred when his conscience was berried deep inside of him so that he didn't need to feel such strong emotions. They were a weakness, they were holding him back; if he didn't have them then he would have no problem leaving Naruto and would have done so by now.

Sasuke decided to put his thoughts elsewhere, to try and calm his anger. He wondered if Naruto knew that Hinata and Kiba had been discovered. Vaguely he wondered if even Kiba knew. But that really wasn't any of his business in the first place. _'What's the fucking time?'_ He didn't know. Must have been late, he had been sitting there for hours.

His thoughts wondered back to the morning. It had been one of Naruto's rare mood swings. They were hard to come by now but every once in a while he would have one. Sasuke was unlucky enough to have been on the wrong end of one this morning. The Uchiha honestly preferred it when Naruto got angry. He didn't feel as bad. He hated to see Naruto cry; the jinchuuriki never cried and it was somewhat horrifying for him to witness such a thing.

After they had re-entered the kitchen Naruto had decided to make smoothies. He had done Sasuke a strawberry and vanilla one – which wasn't as bad as he had expected – and himself a chocolate and tomato one. For some reason he had not been eating ramen as frequently as he used to. Not that Sasuke complained but it was unnerving to see such a change…his friends also thought it was exceptionally weird.

It hadn't been a hot day but the two had gone out to the garden about mid-day and Naruto had insisted that he took his top off. Not like Sasuke complained but he was trying to read. The blond had been such a tease. Sasuke was still unhappy with the boy for what he had done.

_The two had been by the pool, Sasuke reading __on the patio floor and Naruto swinging his legs in the water, completely disregarding the fact that his orange trousers were getting soaked. After a while though, it seemed Naruto got bored and he had stripped himself of his jumpsuit bottoms to take a dive in the water. Sasuke had ignored him when he asked for the raven to join him. He was busy. _

_Naruto hadn't liked being ignored. He had crawled his dripping-wet-clad-only-in-white-boxers-body (obviously soaked and see through) over to his boyfriend and had snatched the book straight out of Sasuke's hands, flinging it to some unknown destination. Normally the Uchiha would not have stood for such behavior but his hands had quickly been filled with something else as Naruto sat in his lap; legs spread at either side of the dark male._

'_What are you doing?' he had hissed and attempted to shove the blond off; he was soaking the ANBU captain and Sasuke was not amused. However, Naruto had giggled before pinning Sasuke's hands above his head and leaving the raven back down on the patio. The Jinchuuriki had hovered over his infuriated boyfriend for a moment before leaning closer and whispering an amount of specifically erotic scenes involving both men in his ear, if this wasn't the only problem Naruto had also started rubbing his crotch over Sasuke's ever-increasing hard-on. _

_Sasuke no longer cared about being wet or about reading his book or about being annoyed at his boyfriend but just as he was about to rip the remaining clothes off his lover, Naruto had disappeared. He had literally puffed out of existence leaving a horny Sasuke, completely soaked on the ground. Sasuke had almost completely ignored him for the rest of the day and evening - only speaking when necessary. His dobe would need to be taught a thing or two as soon as Sasuke was no longer grumpy. _

As Sasuke's thoughts came back to the present he realized – angrily – that the blond had affected him again! Proof of such affection was evident in the bulge present between his legs. He growled before sinking farther into the seat, the previous anger rushing back to him, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides…Naruto was in trouble when he returned from the party; that was for sure.

* * *

Naruto had never felt so relieved to see the Uchiha mansion as he did tonight. He had needed to stop numerous times on the journey back due to many discomforting troubles; sickness; forgetting where the mansion was; falling over…So yes, he was glad to see the house. He quietly entered – trying not to wake the Uchiha he was sure would be sleeping – and made his way through the house calmly. The first stop was the kitchen. He was hungry.

The place was very dark and Naruto couldn't help stumbling as he moved around, still trying to be silent. He got as far as the fridge before he stumbled on something and fell face first onto the tiles with a groan. Nevertheless, he got back to his feet and began his journey anew only to come face to face with two angry Sharingan eyes. Upon further inspection, Naruto could make out the markings of his - supposedly sealed - curse.

"Oh! H-hey there S-sasuke…um, I was j-just getting some food and-" He started, tying to seem innocent; it didn't work to help him in this case as he was spun round and forced chest-down onto the dining room table. The blond wondered what had gotten into his boyfriend but found the answer as Sasuke walked closer to him, causing his front to press against Naruto's ass. This wasn't good; Sasuke was in dangerous (sadist) mood. It was lucky that the jinchuuriki could still tell the difference between sadist Sasuke and moody/angry Sasuke in his drunken state. Though, now that he knew it wasn't going to be too hard to please the other male.

"What took you so long, Na-ru-to?" he hissed into Naruto's ear, bending over and pressing all of his weight onto the smaller boy's back.

"I have been waiting for hours for you." The feeling of Sasuke's hot breath on the back of his neck sent involuntary shivers down his spine. He wouldn't reply. It would do no use to reply when Sasuke was like this; it would only serve to make him angrier. He felt two cold hands slide up under his shirt to rest on his warm back.

-lemon-

The jinchuuriki struggled to breathe as Sasuke rested his entire body atop the younger boy's. He gave the former only a few minutes before wriggling – much to his body's distress - and demanding to be untied.

"Sasuke. Get the hell off me and fucking untie me right now." The ANBU captain pulled away slowly and Naruto winced as Sasuke's limp member slipped out of his abused anus, more red trickling down over old, crisp blood smears. He felt the bonds holding his raw hands loosen and stumbled for the door. Naruto made it half way down the hallways before a particularly painful throb erupted through his spine and the next thing he knew he was falling to the ground.

He would have landed on his back had arms not wrapped tightly around his middle and lifted him up. Naruto wasn't thrilled at the thought of being carried bridal style to the bathroom but he couldn't find it in himself to complain. At least that way it was less sore.

The room seemed especially cold on both males naked skin, their drying sweat making the air around them claw at their bodies. Naruto found himself feeling very sleepy as he was placed on the toilet seat, his behind aching in protest at sitting down. The sound of running water made Naruto even sleepier and he aloud himself to doze off for a few moments.

When he came round he was carefully seated between his boyfriends legs in a hot bath with bubbles and candles. Sasuke was never a romantic lover but after he came out of a sadistic faze he would always feel incredibly guilty. At least Naruto guessed he did – after all, an Uchiha would never admit to feeling guilty. The future Hokage was immensely relaxed as his lover ran his hands through blond locks, a lather picking up from the shampoo.

"Are you feeling better?" a soft voice that vaguely sounded like Sasuke came from behind him.

He yawned, "yeh…just sleepy. Still a little boozy from the party."

"I spoke to Gaara…." Sasuke said, sounding much more himself, "…for a while, the usual."

"…ah. Yeh I saw Temari and Shikamaru talking by the wall for the whole party. Honestly, when are they going to get together? It's obvious to anyone that they like each other..." Sasuke just grunted a reply as Naruto continued to talk about the evening's events. The blond purred slightly through the antics as the raven turned to washing his body – namely the dark blood stains on his lithe tan legs. He ran his fingers lightly over the soft flesh, the red marks seeming to dissolve into the surrounding water in a pink haze. He was ever gentle, especially while cleaning other, more delicate, parts of his dobe.

He knew that his lover had not enjoyed their latest activities. He couldn't remember much of it; he never could when he was like that. But there had been far more blood and much more pain than there had ever been when they had been rough. He had seen Naruto sneak a hand over his stomach when he was resting on the toilet seat. He couldn't help but worry if he'd made the blonde's illness worse.

Placing his own hands over the younger male's tummy he couldn't help but frown. He'd caught Naruto looking in the mirror one morning, a look of horror on his face. He seemed to think he was getting fat – though he had never actually said so…Sasuke had seen him fret over it again and again. It was silly in his opinion. Sure, it was slightly strange to get extra weight when you were a ninja since working out was mandatory – except in Chouji's case – but Naruto was not getting fat. It was just a slight protruding on his stomach, probably bloating caused by the strange food he had taken to eating and the sickness that was bothering him. It was nothing to worry about.

The Uchiha wasn't sure if Naruto thought he disliked it or if he was bothered by it but in all honestly he didn't think he'd be bothered by much that Naruto did; especially where looks were concerned. Sasuke, himself, had picked up many scars in his time away from Konoha; he wasn't going to complain about a tiny bump on his boyfriend's belly.

"Sasuke? Are you even listening any more?" He was tapped on the arm insistently, bringing him back from his thoughts. He didn't dignify that question with an answer; Naruto knew he hadn't been listening.

"I'm kinda tired," the blond said – maneuvering himself so that he was nestled in a pale chest, his face fitting snugly in the crook of Sasuke's neck. "Take me to bed." He ordered and wrapped his arms tightly around the older man. Sasuke sighed. He hated being ordered around.

* * *

(1) **well…I'm not completely sure if it is the same hall but I'm about 50 sure so if I'm wrong feel free to let me know and I'll change it.**

**I'm deeply sorry for the long, long, long wait for my upload but I do have a good reason this time; I finished this chapter about a week and a half ago and yet I haven't been able to upload it as my internet was down. Even as I am writing this I'm still not sure how much longer it will be until I will be back online but as soon as I am I will upload this!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Xx..xX**


	10. Revelations

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**I just thought I'd say that I know my story is very far from what would be in the manga but I follow the anime and don't read the manga at all. Though I've heard stories and know that Sasuke does not return after the death of his brother, so my story does not fit the plot of the manga. It still fits the plot of the anime so far so I don't think it would come under AU…or would it? I don't know I just felt like sharing that information because I'm in a rambling mood…on with the chapter;**

* * *

Deep blue eyes raked over the mirror, or rather what was in it. Naruto couldn't keep the frown from etching into his beautiful caramel skin. _'What the heck is that?! I don't even eat that much! Then again…and I hate to admit it but…maybe it's all that strange stuff I've been eating. Sasuke said it was bad for me, I just…'_ Naruto sighed and made his way to the wardrobe. He had just taken a shower – alone. Sasuke was on a mission and wouldn't be back for at least a month. He had left early this morning and was probably still feeling bad for his behavior after the party; not that Naruto had forgotten it either; it still stung and it had been at least 7 hours since the incident; most of his injuries had healed after that but not this. To think sex could be so painful…

The blond always felt incredibly lonely when Sasuke wasn't at home. The house felt heavier and colder as he walked to the kitchen without his boyfriend. Though, the whole Uchiha district had a strange, creepy atmosphere about it. Naruto's face brightened; they had agreed last night that this would not be the case for much longer. They were going to renovate the whole place and then rent the homes. He hadn't bothered to ask Sasuke to sell any of them; he knew the answer would be a no – they were for his clan…when there was one again that is…

Naruto opened a cupboard and reached in to gather some food when he stalled. Sneaking a hand around his middle he groaned - Sasuke would hate him for his – before retracting the arm and walking away. He wasn't very hungry anyway and besides, Baa-chan liked it when he was early for training. It made her think he was more determined, he snorted, like anyone was half as determined as he was.

It didn't take long before he was walking down the quiet streets of Konoha. He had decided to take a longer route to the tower; Tsunade was usually late anyway and even Sakura didn't arrive as early as this. Naruto had woken up just as Sasuke was leaving and, annoyingly, hadn't been able to go back to sleep. He yawned and tugged on the bottom of Sasuke's shirt – it was red and very nice, one of the only shirts Sasuke had without an Uchiha symbol on. He never wore Sasuke's clothes when he was outside but lately he had felt more inclined to do so…they were slightly larger than his and didn't cling to him as his orange jumpsuit did.

His birthday would be soon and Sasuke would probably still be on the mission. He cursed internally; he hadn't realized that – it was only in three weeks - Well that was going to be something to look forward to; it would also be the celebration of the akuma takai and Naruto never enjoyed that.

He noticed a splotch of pink as he passed the entrance. _'I'd better go talk to Sakura.' _She didn't come in as often as she used to; having a baby cuts back on your time and most ninja discontinue their career, opting for something more suitable to family life, but neither Sakura nor Lee had done that and both struggle to manage their timetable.

"Hey Sakura-chan…" He watched as she jumped slightly before turning around and smiling lazily. Since the birth of Kaname, she had mellowed slightly, though Naruto didn't think it would last. The baby looked much like her mother; pink hair and sparkling emerald green eyes, the shape of her eyes, however, were much more like her father's – thankfully she did not possess large, bushy eyebrows as well and for some reason it looked cute on her.

"Wow, Naruto…you're here early."

Naruto grinned and shrugged his shoulders in response. "I got up early when Sasuke left. Heh."

"Oh yes, that's right. Sasuke has a mission."

"Sadly." The blond laughed, causing his pink haired companion to giggle as well.

"I was about to go for breakfast…I didn't fancy anything in the house this morning but I really should have something. Do you want to come with me?" She asked sweetly but didn't miss the strange flash that entered her team-mate's eyes.

"I-uh…Actually, I already had breakfast," He sighed, "But I'll see you when you get back."

Sakura watched as her friend walked further into the building, knowing that something was wrong but unable to pinpoint what, she pushed it to the back of her mind before leaving.

* * *

"Hey Kakashi…" The voice said timidly from beneath his blankets.

"What is it, my little dolphin?" Kakashi cooed as Iruka tugged the blankets off of his head to look at his boyfriend. A glance at the clock on his lover's nightstand told him that it was already long past noon.

The brunette sighed, "I should leave now-"

"No! Don't go yet. You only got here last night." He interrupted, pulling the smaller male against his still-naked body.

Iruka blushed furiously, attempting to hide it by burying his face in the crevice of the silver haired ninja's neck. He couldn't help noticing – much to his dismay – that Kakashi stank of sex. He was probably in no better state but was determined to go now; he had over slept long enough and had made plans for himself; he was going to treat Naruto to ramen. They had been spending less and less time together and he wanted to go out more with his favorite hyperactive ninja. He had saved up money especially for this – he never knew exactly how much ramen the boy would eat.

"Kashi-kun, I promise I'll come back soon. Please?" He pulled away so that the Jounin could see his face and promptly pleaded with his most innocent look. He hated the face Kakashi pulled; one of disappointment and defeat. But he still smiled and kissed his boyfriends nose before climbing out of bed - ignoring the pout sent his way.

As he began cleaning himself off and readying himself for the day his thoughts turned to his ex-students. Most were growing up but he had worries about some of them. He couldn't help but dread the day that Hinata and Kiba's relationship would be exposed; they would likely be pushed apart and he wondered if they would survive the public ridicule.

And then there was Ino; he knew that she craved for the love that she saw her friends blessed with but she was looking in all the wrong places. She was auctioning herself to the highest bidder and then asking for respect. He had seen the woman a man more than once, but it was never the same man and she always had a sad glint in her eye; she knew what was going to happen. He felt extremely sorry for her but there was little he could do.

What bothered him the most was disease, he doubted she was fully protected each time she had sex with these strangers – because they were really just strangers – and worried immensely about her safety. He knew she was getting depressed but there was nothing he could do – this was something she needed to come to terms with on her own.

The same could be said for Naruto and Sasuke. They both needed to realize what they had and cherish it. More so for Sasuke than for his 'son'. Naruto had been acting strangely lately and Iruka was positive it was due to Sasuke and the friction between them. The blond seemed less hyper and a lot calmer, which wasn't a relatively bad thing – it just wasn't in his nature and it bothered Iruka.

He would never relate to the Uchiha; he understood the want for children. Iruka had a great deal of love for children and was slightly disappointed that he likely wouldn't have any of his own. But he knew that there would undoubtedly be kids in his future, there were plenty of orphaned children in Konoha and he couldn't understand the reason Sasuke had ruled out adoption.

Sure; the whole blood thing came into it but what about a surrogate? He knew Naruto would not be thrilled at the thought of Sasuke's baby growing inside another woman even if it didn't require sex. But the blond would get over it and he would love the baby too. Finding a willing woman would be the only difficulty to that route.

It was an annoyance that Sasuke refused to think of such things and instead chose the worst possible choice for himself – though it was something the dark haired teen had always done. Iruka sighed as he kissed his sulking – or sleeping, he wasn't very sure - boyfriend's temple and promptly left the apartment. He whistled to himself as he slowly approached the Hokage tower. The weather wasn't too nice; a gentle, cool breeze swept through the town and sent frequent shivers up his spine. Hugging the coat he was wearing closer to his body, he continued his walk.

He passed a group of children playing and stopped when he heard his name.

"Iruka-sensei!" one of the kids squealed in delight and ran to him; he quickly lowered himself to the ground and enveloped the girl in a tight hug. The winter was upon them and the younger children were enjoying a holiday. This meant the teachers work load was cut in half – something he was thankful for. The other children hastily pulled their friend away and ran back to the side of the street to continue playing; some acknowledging the man and others oblivious to everything but each other.

Being a teacher wasn't easy but it was – in his opinion – one of the most enjoyable jobs imaginable. He loved the repetition that so many others hated; teaching the same things over and over again. But he cherished his time with the younger generation. He often reminisced about previous students that he was reminded of in the classroom and even of himself as a child sometimes.

The Hokage tower looked as glorious as ever and Iruka sighed as he entered the large doors. It seemed relatively empty today and he failed to see Sakura as he passed the medics lounge. It wasn't really for medics though; everybody just went there when they took a brake. He smiled to himself before walking straight into the back of a certain orange clad teen. Just the boy he was looking for!

"Naruto! I'm sorry for running into you like that, I was wondering if you'd like to come have some ramen and chat?!" He asked excitedly. Naruto – who quickly got over his shock – grinned and replied immediately; amazed that his father figure was acting so happily, it was good to see him like this.

"I'd love to! Just wait there a sec and I'll go tell Tsunade." With that the blond took off down the corridor, leaving Iruka to smile and shake his head at the teenager's antics. Some things would never change.

He entered the medics lounge as he waited for the return of his previous student. He sat in one of the armchairs and watched as people went about their business. The couch he was on was situated directly in front of a tea dispenser and he couldn't help over-hearing the conversation a group of girls were having behind him.

"Sasuke seemed really nice you know. I can still tell he didn't want to be with me but I'm confident it will pass. I just need him to get comfortable around me and it'll work out. I know it." One of the girls said, she had a light voice, not unlike Hinata's. He raised an eyebrow at what the girls seemed to be speaking about.

"You're so lucky," another spoke, her voice shrill and laced with jealousy, Iruka had a very bad feeling.

"Well…yeh, it's nice to get to know someone who is usually protected heavily by a mask of indifference. I'm sure you'd be jumping for joy to go out to dinner with him." Iruka could hear the girl smiling and he scowled; '_what on earth?_'

"Too right, Mijime! When are you next meeting him?" He then realized that there were three girls there, though he barely noticed through the questions going around in his head. Was Sasuke cheating on Naruto; looking for a bride before he'd even finished with the blond?

"Well he has been seeing me for some time now. He liked me better than the others I guess, but he's on a mission so I won't see him until…" her voice took on a cocky nature and the brunette couldn't bear to hear anything more. He stood and turned to demand answers when he heard Naruto's voice calling him.

"Iruka-sensei! Hurry up." He hesitated to leave or confront the girl in front of him. He could see why Sasuke would choose her. She had pale skin and dark brown hair – cut to her shoulders – and bangs floated around deep, dark eyes. She was perfect Uchiha-baby-dispenser material. He suddenly felt very sick as he made his way out of the room. He was greeted upon exit by a quiet but grinning Naruto. Iruka found himself wondering vaguely if the jinchuuriki knew that Sasuke was in a relationship with someone else.

"So, um…how have you been lately?" He asked casually, debating with himself whether or not he should bring that girl into the conversation. Mijime was her name; he'd heard her friend call her that.

"Oh, I've been good! What about you? Anything happened with Mr. Hatake that I should know about?" He snapped back, changing the topic hastily with a wink. Iruka blushed; catching the accusations. The last he had spoken with Naruto he and Kakashi hadn't been sleeping together.

"Well…we've become more serious…" He began, explaining all that he had been doing during the time they hadn't spoken. It seemed Naruto had a lot to share as well and had no problem with rambling on about all the events.

As they were nearing the Ramen stall though, Naruto became quiet. Iruka wasn't sure why. Perhaps the blond really had gone off the noodles like was rumored; though Iruka doubted it – the blond wasn't one to change habits. Which was what ramen had become.

They took their seats and Iruka ordered miso for both of them since Naruto seemed slightly dazed. The blond stared at the owner as he prepared the gorgeous, juicy, yummy, tasty, delectable food. Sneaking a hand around his belly he bit his lip and frowned. He was starving.

"Naruto?"

"hm?" He turned towards Iruka, seemingly unaware that he had yet to remove the tanned limb from around his stomach. This didn't go unnoticed by Iruka who watched him suspiciously.

"What's with the change of cloths?" He asked; something was seriously wrong here.

"Oh, uh, nothing really. I like wearing Sasuke's clothes. You know that…"

Iruka was not convinced. He'd known the boy long enough to realize when something being hidden from his fatherly eye. "Yeh…around the house."

"Well, today my jumpsuit was dirty."

"That's never stopped you before"

"I just felt like a change, ok? Can't you just drop it…please?"

Iruka sighed and was about to start an argument when their dished were placed in front of them. He watched curiously as Naruto eyed the food as if deciding if it was poison or gold. He seemed to settle on gold and quietly started to eat. Iruka made a start soon but stopped when he noticed that the boy next to him was already finished and was sitting soundlessly staring into space, a hand still on his tummy.

"Naruto do you want…?" He began but stopped when he saw that the plate was not finished – on the contrary, it was barely touched. He frowned and eyed the blond – who seemed to not have noticed that he'd spoke – darkly.

"Is there something wrong with the food Naruto?" He seemed to hear him this time and turned his head slowly towards the voice, a lazy look on his face.

"What?" He asked, causing Iruka to look at the bowl with a scowl.

"You have hardly touched you're food, what's wrong with it?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just not hungry."

"Really?"

Naruto hesitated…"ye…" But he was interrupted by a loud growling from his aching stomach. _'Damn it Kyuu…I know you did that on purpose.' _But the fox didn't reply.

"You don't sound 'not hungry'" Iruka was getting aggravated. He was trying desperately to think of what could be wrong. He was running all Naruto's symptoms off in his head at top speed, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe he did know Sasuke was cheating on him…

"I'm just not feeling well…" He said silently before leaving the shop abruptly. A distressed Iruka sat staring after him in a worried state. Iruka sat stunned as he paid the manager of the Ichiraku's and left towards Kakashi's flat. He needed to talk to someone about this; someone who might be able to think straighter when regarding the blond. He had immediately considered the Hokage but after reviewing the situation and her relationship with him, he thought she could probably think no better than himself. Kakashi – although he, too, was attached to the ball of sunshine – always thought straight.

* * *

The silver haired man yawned before crawling out of bed – intent on reaching to toilet before he passed out again. The previous night had left him extremely tired and although Iruka had gotten up around two hours ago, his other half had not been as active – so to speak – in last nights actions. He had just made his way into the small kitchenette, after relieving himself, to prepare some cereal – as if the man could be bothered cooking something – when he heard the buzzer go off.

Approaching his door he held the speaker before questioning who was at the door to his flat. He heard Iruka's voice and immediately opened the door, leaving his own for the man when he arrived. It took the Chuunin a few moments to climb the stairs but as soon as he entered the room he was ambushed by a large, firm chest firmly pressed against his back. He giggled slightly before leading the other man through the apartment and into the living room where Kakashi finally let him go to finish the breakfast.

"Are you just up?" Iruka questioned, noticing his boyfriend was still to dress in anything more than a pair of boxers. The man grunted a reply and Iruka smiled; he knew it!

"You got back quick…I thought you'd spend your day off doing something else." He responded.

Iruka frowned, "well, I needed to talk to you about a few things…" He noticed Kakashi turn towards him – a full bowl in his hands – and approach him on the couch, his eyebrows raised in interest.

"Do tell…"

"Its Naruto," He started, pausing on how to explain the situation. "Sasuke is cheating on him." He continued and watched for any signs of shock. None came.

"Aren't you concerned about this?!" He screamed, angered by his lovers lack of response.

"I'm not all that surprised. I suspected something anyway. Besides, this is going to break Naruto anyway and there is nothing we can do. I know I might sound harsh and unfeeling but trust me. I have noticed Sasuke sneaking out every now and then. I knew something was going on I just didn't want to admit it. But that isn't what you're here to talk about is it?"

Iruka stared dumfounded at the silver haired man's words but unable to start an argument whist he still had something important on his mind, he shook his head before letting Kakashi off the hook – swearing internally that he would let him know just what he thought about all this after other pressing matters were dealt with. Little did he know how long that would take.

"He's got all these strange things going on with him. Maybe I'm just being paranoid for him but…" he frowned "I don't want to take any chances."

"Yeh," Kakashi contemplated, "I've noticed a few things myself when we've trained together. Why don't you tell me everything you know and I'll see if I can add to it."

Iruka nodded. "Well…there was the sickness but that has stopped now, I think. And he had behaving strangely; worse than Ino at that time of the month. But that's passed too. Um…let's see, he's a little quieter now and seems calmer; it's very unlike him. And the change in his food I've heard about. He wouldn't eat the ramen I bought him today – said he was ill but I know it was something else. And then…well…um…oh gosh Kakashi! I was over-reacting wasn't I? It seems so silly now that I list everything." He chuckled nervously.

Kakashi shook his head, a deep frown on his face. Iruka could see that the man was thinking as he stared out of the window opposite the couch. The Chuunin knew something was wrong when Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he said distractedly 'he's been bloated too…hmm…' Iruka jumped at the opportunity to gather more information.

"What?!"

"I was just thinking. His stomach. It's strange but he's been hiding it lately, you know with Sasuke's shirts and stuff. I think he's gaining weight…" He trailed off, an unreadable expression etched on to his face as he contemplated telling Iruka his line of thoughts. He knew his lover would not pass such a thing off as impossible; he was a firm believer in miracles. And in a way Naruto was one big miracle.

He turned in his chair to face Iruka, a very serious expression on his face. The man addressed knew immediately that what was coming would be very difficult to handle.

Iruka watched as Kakashi took a deep breath to clear his mind before divulging the contents of his theory to Naruto's strange circumstances.

Iruka's eyes widened with each word coming from Kakashi's mouth.

…No way…

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" He heard a fairly flustered Iruka yell as the older man stumbled into the building. Naruto raised an eyebrow. What happened since the ramen shop? "HOKAGE-SAMA!!!!" it sounded really urgent. The blond was about to rush over to his father figure when a certain silver haired sensei of his stopped him; gently shaking his head whilst giving him a once over._ 'The hell?!'_

He watched as they continued through the building, utterly confused with all that had just ensued. He sighed before following Shizune…the woman was leading him to the basement – they had needed to show him more scrolls and he had never been down there so Tsunade had said he should go to get a feel of it.

Supposedly he would be making frequent trips here once Hokage, to be honest he couldn't see that ever happening; it was way too far a walk, he realized, as they continued down a long twisted staircase. It reminded him of a castle he and team seven had one been sent to infiltrate a few years ago. There were reports of strange noises and Naruto had been terrified…convinced that ghosts were haunting the place. There hadn't been ghosts but a bunch of children had been sneaking in and creating a lot of racket. Naruto had never lived that down though; since Sasuke and Sakura had both seen how scared he was. This was just like that and it was mildly creepy.

They reached a large round metal door at the end. It looked completely out of place in the old styled building. It had an elaborate locking system placed over it like the types found in some foreign safes. He found himself wondering how he would possibly manage to enter, though as he watched Shizune it seemed easier than it looked. She tapped a few odd places on the door before turning a large handle placed in the centre; what had the blond confused was that she continued to swing the bar round before stopping and swinging the other way and for some time she continued to do this until he heard a click and the door opened showing a dim lighted room.

There were candles on the walls to guide you around the place. Naruto was thankful because it was a huge room. It seemed to stretch on forever with large metal cases holding only scrolls as far as the eye could see. As he looked upwards he saw that not only did it seem to stretch for miles around him but also upwards; he couldn't even see the roof and all the shelves continued up. Naruto frowned – _'how the heck are you supposed to find something in here?'_

He heard Kyuubi giggle as he followed Shizune; the woman obviously knew her way around. _**'It isn't really so big.' **_Kyuubi's gruff voice echoed in his mind, he couldn't help thinking that the fox sounded worn out. Plus he wondered why the fox was in animal form – Kyuubi only did that when fighting – but paid it no mind as he continued their internal conversation.

'_Well it sure looks big to me! Have you looked around? It must stretch out all below Konoha!' _

'_**It's a jutsu. Very strong, since the scrolls held here contain some of the most dangerous forbidden techniques imaginable. I'm guessing you'll need to know all of them.'**_

'_Why would I need forbidden jutsus?' _

'_**You're about to find out…' **_

He watched as Shizune stopped at a certain case and reached up to pull down a single box. It was just an ordinary metal box, just like all the others around it. Naruto was quick to ask her what was inside. She had only said that he needed to wait for Tsunade to show him. Of course the blond hadn't been thrilled at the idea of waiting whilst they walked all the way back to her office but the woman stayed quiet so he huffed internally while following her like a lost puppy.

As they neared the Hokage's office, Shizune stopped dead in her tracks, turning quickly and shuffling both herself and the blond further away from the room. Naruto could hear the remnants of a dying conversation and wanted more than anything to burst in and find out what was going on – he was positive it involved Iruka and therefore involved him, he concluded. The man was his father figure after all. But it seemed he wasn't to find out since the door opened and both Kakashi and Iruka emerged from the room.

The brunette looked extremely decomposed and seemed to be having an overwhelming internal conflict as he stared into amazing cerulean eyes. Determination settled on his features and an overly confused blond found himself in the arms of is former teacher, not that he minded but he would really have liked to be told what the hell was going on. Just as he was about to question though, Kakashi had swept Iruka off his feet – literally - and left in a rush. Naruto sighed; was nothing simple any more?

The two entered the room to find Tsunade with her head face down on the table, empty sake bottled scattered around the desk.

"Tsunade-sama! You mustn't drink on the job like this." Shizune immediately scolded while Naruto looked on in humor – he always found it amusing when the Hokage got drunk. Though…it wouldn't do his training much good. He frowned at the thought before his attention was redirected to the box that Shizune was emptying on the floor. This was strange, he thought casually, usually when they trained, Tsunade would take him to one of the other rooms.

"Brat!" She snapped and pulled his attention once more to her. His bright blue eyes widened as he saw that her eyes were swollen and raw. She had been crying. He had only seen her cry on a few occasions and it always involved him. The two stared at each other for a moment before the blonde woman got annoyed…seemingly she had been speaking unbeknownst to the boy in front of her – he was now officially distracted…what was all the fuss about?

"I told you to come here! There is a strange mark on your neck!" She snapped and he raised an eyebrow but approached the desk. She beckoned him closer still until he was mere centimeters from his face. _'Surely she can see it from here?!' _was his last thought before a sharp pain tingled through his neck. He immediately pulled back with a gasp; looking at Tsunade for an explanation but the woman seemed innocent. She had nothing in her hand and was fiddling with the cap of a sake bottle before she sighed and started lecturing him about the importance of forbidden jutsus. It seemed Kyuubi had been right.

"In order to become Hokage you must know all the forbidden jutsus. The reason – because I just know you're going to ask – is that there may come situations where it is necessary to…use such…techniques, in order to secure the villages survival." A mental image of Kyuubi flashed in his mind and he immediately understood. He didn't like it but it was understandable. Some things had to be done and although forbidden techniques were forbidden for a reason, they also served purpose when it came to survival.

Wordlessly he listened as she explained all the jutsus in detail and told him what he would need to do in order to master them. It wasn't expected that he would do it in less than five years but Tsunade was confident that he could pull such a thing off in less time. The boy was surprising when it came to such achievements.

Naruto listened closely and made sure he understood everything as well as he could – questioning when he needed to. And for a few blissful hours he felt like there was nothing else but him and his dream. The one he was finally reaching. His hunger was forgotten as well as his troubles with Sasuke and the strange occurrences he had witnessed today. He felt like there wasn't a care in the world and for just a few short hours he felt truly free.

* * *

**Akuma takai means demon death and it is basically where they celebrate the events that occurred on 10/10 – Naruto's birthday. I was feeling extremely uncreative and couldn't come up with something better – sorry.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Xx..xX**


	11. What I Must Do

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Forgive my lame attempts at first person narrative in some of this chapter. I've never written in first person before so…sorry if it's horrid. I also attempted present tense too. It's probably just as bad. I have a tendency to switch back to past tense but I will check this over many times to try and make sure it's good.**

* * *

"Kakashiiii! I have to doo thiiiis!" Iruka whined from his place in his boyfriend's arms. They were on Kakashi's small couch with Iruka in his lover's lap while trying to get free. Though it was to no avail; every time he tried to get off, the strong arms that were wrapped protectively around his middle would tighten and force him back against Kakashi's chest. Although he would never admit it but he was enjoying it a bit – he knew from the bulge in the Jounin's trousers that he was enjoying it to – especially the way he was being slammed back onto his lover's crotch. But he had somewhere to be.

He needed to tell Naruto about Mijime and Sasuke before the latter came back from his mission. It was only a few days until the jinchuuriki's birthday and Iruka thought it only right for the boy to know as soon as possible. He had also forced the test results to the back of his mind. Tsunade had given him the task of telling the blond what was wrong with him. He had refused - convincing the Hokage successfully that it would be better coming from her since she was a doctor.

That was another reason why he wanted his 'son' to know about the cheating as soon as possible. He didn't want Tsunade to tell him before he knew about Mijime. Of course…he had no idea when she was planning on telling him – though it didn't seem to be any time soon.

"Please…Iruka-dolphin-chaaaan…just tell him another time." Kakashi purred into the brunette's neck, making Iruka squirm. But he shook his head and peeled the others arms away from around him. They had been spending a lot of time together recently and it was taking Iruka a while to get used to such changes, but he was truly starting to enjoy being around the other male. The possessiveness got sweet after a while.

"Sorry Kashi…I'll come back later on to see you, I promise. I just think I need to tell him. He deserves to know."

Kakashi frowned, "I thought you wanted Tsunade to let him know."

"Not that! The girl who Sasuke is seeing. I want to tell Naruto about her."

"Ahhh…" Kakashi smiled coyly, "but you don't even know if he is actually cheating or not…you don't have any evidence."

"Yes I do!" He snapped back as he tore himself away from Kakashi, fully prepared to run out of the flat and to his favorite student at that very moment. "I heard her talking about the dates they have been on! I heard her! So don't tell me I'm wrong!" He watched as Kakashi lowered his eye and sighed, allowing his angered lover to think what he wanted. It was probably the truth anyway.

Iruka didn't appreciate the treatment and made sure Kakashi was aware of that as he stormed out of the building and made his way to a familiar Uchiha mansion. What did Kakashi know anyways…sure they were his students recently and he did know them pretty well. The silver haired man had even said he wasn't surprised that Sasuke was cheating; although that was before details of the account had been divulged. But Iruka was sure – so very sure – that the Uchiha was unfaithful. He had found himself wishing it wasn't so…especially once they had been told of Naruto's present 'concern' as Tsunade had dubbed it. The Chuunin mentally snorted; yes…because that's what you label pregnancy as.

He stopped dead in his tracks as the realization hit him – Naruto was pregnant. He was really carrying Sasuke's child. This was not another one of his tricks - as he had fooled himself into thinking at the back of his mind – and there was no going back. Was he really going to tell Naruto that Sasuke was cheating on him right before he found out the man was the father of his child? Could Iruka really do something like this? He sighed as he continued walking. He'd decide once he got there.

Stepping up onto the front porch, he rang the doorbell and waited patiently for an answer. He knew the blond was in; he had been allowed a week at home for his birthday and to practice a few techniques and tasks he had been given by Tsunade.

He heard someone yell something from inside. He had no idea what it was that was shouted but knew the blond would arrive at his aid soon enough. What he did not expect were the sound of footsteps running towards the door quickly before it was swung open and a half naked Naruto stood for all to see.

If Iruka had noticed he might have seen that not only was his favorite student only dressed in a towel – predictably orange – he was also dripping wet and panting, it may have been obvious that the boy had just ran half ways across the mansion to reach the front door after taking a shower, or perhaps a bath due to the prune wrinkled fingers. But Iruka just couldn't lift his eyes from the boy's stomach. Which was soon noticed and Naruto flushed a brilliant shade of red before scurrying off through the house, leaving a startled Iruka facing an open door.

It took a few moments before the brunette was able to step into the house and close the door behind him. He had not needed a reality check; he kept wishing this was not happening; wishing that Naruto was not pregnant. _'Oh god…' _Iruka made his way to the guest lounge. Most who knew Naruto and Sasuke would immediately make their way to the kitchen or the living room, but Iruka always preferred to wait here.

Naruto reappeared through the door, fully clothed and sporting a large shirt of Sasuke's yet again. The boy rarely wore any of his own clothes now; it was always his lover's larger ones, though he still wore his own jeans, it would do no good wearing his boyfriends because although in length they were larger, his hips were much wider than Sasuke's. Iruka sighed and looked to the floor, a tell tale sign that something serious was about to be said.

"Naruto…it's Sasuke-"

"Oh my god! Is Sasuke okay?!" Naruto yelled with wide eyes, giving Iruka no time to continue. "Nothing bad has happened on the mission right?! Who else did he say was going with him?! Kiba was…and Ino too! Nothing has happened has it?! And oh my god…" He ranted on as Iruka closed his eyes; his attempts at stopping the blond were futile. Until of course, he lost his patience, and did something he probably shouldn't have. He interrupted him.

"Sasuke!" He started loud enough to drown out the blonde's antics and grab his attention. Iruka turned to desperate eyes and murmured the words, hating the heartbroken look that flashed over his 'son's face.

"Sasuke is cheating on you…"

* * *

I wish I didn't feel this way. The pain in my heart and the feeling of self betrayal. I want to be happy but I don't know how to fulfill that. I am on my way to see her. The one who is confusing me so much. I'm not supposed to like her, but I just can't help it. She really does grow on you when you spend so much time with her. I frown as I continued my walk towards her small shack. She lives in a little house just outside Konoha; a five minute walk and I'll be there.

Since when have I liked girls anyways?

…Never.

So why her? I shouldn't be complaining…this is good. Maybe she can make me happy after all. Maybe…but still…

My thoughts are interrupted as I realize I've arrived. Her house really is run down, I think as I knock on her door. She appears moments later, slightly shocked that I'm already back. I smirk at her and she smiles widely at me. I adore her smile, it's bright like the sun. I hadn't realized that I've begun to think of the little pieces of her as opposed to the larger, more noticeable qualities. There are a lot of things I have missed of her while being away.

"You're back early! I take it the mission was successful." She says as she leads me into the house. I like to hear her talk, she never annoys me like the others do and she doesn't treat me like a piece of meat.

"Of course." I reply confidently and she giggles, I can't take my eyes off of her.

"Have you given Hokage-sama your report? I see you still have the missionary bag," She points to my bag that is still upon my back – I haven't bothered to take it off yet – a gorgeous smile creeps onto her pale face, her smooth skin taking on a small blush; the sight is breathtaking. When had I begun to see her this way? "Don't you want to go home first?" She continues shyly, I know what she's hinting at and I smirk again. I want her. Just her. Everything else can wait.

"I had my team mates deliver it…and I'd rather be here." I say as I approach her but before her mind can comprehend what is happening my lips are upon hers. The kiss is light and when we break apart, our lips still touching, I murmur my next words; the ones I know will make her happy. I want to make her happy. "With you…" I say softly and we kiss again, our fingers touch and I make my way through her house, slipping my bag and cloak off my shoulders as I continue through the small building, she has no choice but to follow. I've been here a few times already and know the house inside out.

I make sure to kick the door shut when we enter the bedroom, I prefer making out when the outside world is completely shut away. When I don't have to think about right and wrong, what I should be doing or who I should be with.

It takes me moments to strip her of her clothing, and me partially of mine. She seems rather surprised by my blunt actions – it is usually her who takes control - but I want her. I have made up my mind and I choose to be with her. It won't take me long to dispose of my problems and then we will be together. I kiss each and every part of her body that I can, wishing more than anything to be closer to her. My deep eyes watch as we touch, our pale skin matches blissfully. Her dark hair is scattered around her perfect face. A light sheen of sweat glistens on her flushed body.

"Mijime…" I whisper her name as I reach in for another kiss. I know now…what I have to do.

* * *

Iruka waited for a response. He tried not to let the boys quietness get to him. The blond was bound to be in shock – or horror. But he did get rather worried when Naruto started laughing, and not a giggle either, this was proper laughing; hysterics. The future Hokage was struggling to breath by the time he had finished the seizure. Iruka tried to tell himself that this was normal behavior – he was just having a hard time grasping the situation – but even Iruka couldn't persuade himself that this was normal by any means.

Naruto calmed himself gradually and eventually leapt onto the couch next to his former sensei, he found the expression on the mans face rather amusing. But this was definitely a mistake. There was no way Sasuke was cheating on him. Just no way. There would be a reasonable explanation. It was impossible for his Uchiha to two-time; the guy was too proud.

"Sasuke isn't cheating on me." He gasped out as his lungs relished the air they were finally being allowed. "You have definitely made a mistake Iruka-sensei! Sasuke wouldn't do that." He watched as the brunette shook his head vigorously. He really did find this amusing. "I know you think he's a bastard – which I'm not denying – but he isn't that bad. He would never cheat on me…I know about the whole clan deal but he would have no reason to cheat." He said confidently, though in the back of his mind a voice screamed at him for being so naïve and trusting.

It told him to look at the facts. Sasuke had frequently lied about his whereabouts. Not that Naruto distrusted him but…there had been an incident around two months ago. Sasuke had told Naruto that he wouldn't be home till well after mid-night as he was filing reports which he, as ANBU captain, was required to do once in a while. But the next day as Naruto had been training with the Hokage he had enquired as to how Sasuke had done; if he'd finished all the reports. Tsunade had looked at him strangely before informing him that there had been no outstanding reports to be filed since they had been updated only a few weeks previously. Since then Naruto had made little effort in checking whether Sasuke was really doing what he said he was doing, but he did notice the few times when Sasuke had not covered himself up very well.

"Naruto…I'm very sure. There is a girl who I saw in the Hokage tower and she was talking about a date she had been on with him. She spoke of it as if it were a regular occurrence. I'm not telling you to hurt you, I'm trying to look out for you. Please just…think about it." He said, his tone regrettably sympathetic, Naruto despised it. But thankfully Iruka spoke no more; just wished him well in his studies that had been given to him by Tsunade and left.

Once Naruto was alone he found it much harder to believe what he had said. He hated doubting his boyfriend but there was a lot of evidence. The thought made him ache in places he never knew could. Deciding to get his mind off of such things, he returned to the cellar – he had been trying to learn some of the techniques set for him - but it was hard.

Kyuubi had been surprisingly helpful, she had explained to him which were the hardest to do and which should be done first. In some cases he would have to learn a certain one before others could be mastered. The first he had managed to complete in little time – it was a simple technique but opened the basics of other, stronger jutsus. Thankfully the last he would learn would be the Shiki Fuujin as it was the most advanced of any of the kinjutsus; he was glad, he didn't really approve of it in the first place. Though the one he was working on now was the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki – it was also one of the best jutsus to date and he knew that if he mastered this seal then he would be able to seal anything at any time. That didn't stop him glaring at it with all his might. He had begun to get a headache and had decided to stop for a break and treat himself to a soothing bath when the doorbell had rung.

But now that he was faced with the task at hand yet again, he found it even harder to concentrate. Not only did he have a certain fox interrupting him every so often, he now also had his lover to think about. He really missed Sasuke. He hoped the older male would return soon. The mission had been set for a month, but he could always hope they would finish early.

Sasuke always used to try his hardest to be back to Naruto in less time than predicted. Lately he hadn't been doing such things. It had started a while before the camping holiday they had gone on but Naruto couldn't stop the dread that filled his stomach at the thought of loosing the Uchiha; the thought of his boyfriend with another; holding another; kissing another; loving another. He felt the tears on his cheeks before he realized he was crying.

He scrunched his bright cerulean eyes closed until he felt like he could move again. He was shaking; he could feel himself trembling. This whole situation was making him feel weak. Sighing, he stood, he wasn't going to waste his time staring at a scroll he couldn't concentrate enough on to even read let alone learn…

He realized only once he was half way there that it had been a few days since he had seen Sakura, because he had been given time off he hadn't seen her at the Hokage tower. When he thought about it though…she would be there just now! So that meant that she wouldn't be at home. _'Darn!'_ He could still go but he didn't think talking with Lee would be as helpful. He didn't need to hear about the joys of youth right now. He needed some good, cold advice. _'Let's go see Tsunade-baa-chan!' _

* * *

I watch her as she lays beside me. She is sleeping. I wish I could sleep too, but I can't, I have to go. Although my heart tells me to stay here I know I mustn't. Not yet anyway. I have to go and see him…I'm still trying to figure out how to get rid of him. I sigh and leave the warmth of the bed. Picking up my clothes and redressing myself as I head to the door, I can't take my eyes away from her form. She really is beautiful.

It makes me slightly bitter to think that I have been missing this all along; that if I'd just opened my eyes more I would have seen what was right in front of me. Then I wouldn't have been with him and this predicament would be far from what it is now. I just want to be happy…

I exit the house as quietly as the old floorboards will allow, making sure to pick up my bag and cloak, and make my way home. Where he will undoubtedly be. I ask myself why I'm still with him, but I cannot give an answer. Surely this whole mess will come to an end soon; surely I will stop hurting soon. I won't talk of this problem to anyone; it is mine to deal with and I'll deal accordingly. Now all I need to do is get him out of my life and Mijime will be mine.

I smile at the thought of just me and her for eternity together. It makes me feel a lightness I've never felt before. I notice now that I've arrived at the village and that means it won't be long until I'm home. I want to postpone it more – I don't want to go back to lying yet. I often wonder if I'm a bad person. At times I think I am, but perhaps it's just the selfishness, because I am selfish for sure.

Yeh… it must just be the selfishness.

* * *

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" A voice boomed from outside her door. _'Oh jeez, could he have come at a worse time?' _was all she had time to think before the door burst open and a grinning Naruto stood. He took a moment to register who was in the room and then he frowned. It was the team who had been sent on the mission to Kazanakure. The one Sasuke was on. Guess who wasn't in the room…

"Where's Sasuke?!" The blonde gasped. As team captain – which he had to be since he was not only captain of the ANBU, but also the only ANBU in the group – he should have been there; he had to give the Hokage the mission report. So he must have been in danger. Naruto panicked.

Tsunade just sighed and shook her head, unconsciously making Naruto even ore worried. Luckily, Kiba laughed and brought everyone back to the room. It was then that Naruto realized that Kiba was, in fact, the only other person in the room…_'where's…'_

"Haha!" Kiba laughed, "The other two never came to hand in the report…sent me here all on my lonesome! Don't know where Sasuke was going but Ino had missed her boyfriend, psh! As if! Everyone knows they change every week! He's probably forgotten who she is!" But Naruto wasn't paying attention. Was Sasuke with that girl? Was he with her instead of him? Had he rushed home for her? _'Oh god,'_ he suddenly felt very nauseous.

Tsunade growled, "Kiba, get out!" and the dog lover did as told, excusing himself in mock politeness. Naruto didn't register anything until He heard the Hokage scream his name. He immediately snapped his eyes to hers. She was not happy. She opened her mouth and Naruto thought she was going to scold him. But nothing like that happened, surprisingly. In fact she sounded very sweet, caring and almost mother-like.

"Are you ok, brat?" The jinchuuriki lifted his brow; this wasn't what he had expected. He had wanted to have a little heart-to-heart chat…but he had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

"Um…I'm ok. I just found out that something might have happened…well; that something is happening…maybe…and it's kinda…not good. I was wondering if you knew anything about…Sasuke…cheating on me?"

The busty blonde drew in a breath and closed her eyes. If Naruto suspected his boyfriend of cheating then she couldn't keep his 'concern' from him any more. He needed to know, and she would tell him, although she didn't want to.

"Naruto. I'm not sure about Sasuke cheating, but there is something else; something…more important…that I need to discuss with you."

"Um…okay." He said rather hesitantly. What could be more important than the one he loved most being in love with someone else behind his back? He was about to find out…

"Well…let me start at the beginning…I'll explain what we saw as signs and then tell you what's going on with you…okay?"

"…okay…"

* * *

**For those who don't know:**

**Hakke no fuuin shiki is the sealing jutsu that was used on Naruto to trap the nine tails. Shiki fuujin is the jutsu used to remove Kyuubi's soul from its body; the same one that the third used in his battle with Orochimaru. Kinjutsu are forbidden techniques. Kazanakure is the hidden volcano village in the land of mountains.**

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter but it seemed like a good point to stop at. Sorry if I'm being horrible about Sasuke and Mijime. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Xx..xX**


	12. Misery

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Ok…so…I think a lot of people hate me now…sadly that last chapter had a lot of viewers running away. Thanks to all who were brave enough to come back and read another chapter! I'm very grateful! And trust me…you will not be disappointed.**

**This chapter moves very fast and I hope you enjoy it more than the last...**

* * *

Sasuke was not happy. Scratch that…Sasuke was livid. He'd come home all of thirty minutes previously and there was no one there. No blond dobe in sight. He was furious. And to top it all off nobody knew where his boyfriend was! He'd gone to search for his possession as soon as he'd realized the future Hokage was not in the mansion and absolutely no-one knew where he was. At least, that's what they all had said to him.

So he was sulking. He was sitting in the dark, in the living room, and sulking. He was also brooding, but when dealing with Sasuke the latter is almost a presumption. He was also worrying. He was worrying that Naruto had been sent on a mission, which would be bad since he'd not only rushed back for his dobe's birthday, but had also arranged a party. But he didn't think Tsunade would send away her favorite hyperactive ninja when it was his birthday.

He hadn't spoken to many about the arrangements. Only Ino and Mijime knew. He was going to tell Naruto about her; though he wasn't sure when, or how Naruto would take the news…perhaps it would be better if he just kept her a secret a little longer. Though he had been seeing her for months now and if someone found out and told Naruto it wouldn't be good. But he'd wait until after his birthday.

He groaned in frustration. Where was his blond?!

* * *

Naruto felt like he couldn't breathe. He wasn't sure anymore if he even was breathing. All he could do was stare. He would have questioned her sanity, if he had not already done so a few minutes ago. He would have questioned her medical ability, if he had not already done that as well. He would have questioned anything and everything, if he did not have such a strong feeling that it would be in vain. Coupled with the fact that he didn't trust his mouth to produce noise anymore and all was not looking good for Naruto.

He was still stood in the same place he had been an hour ago. There were more people in the room now; Tsunade had needed back-up and proof, which Sakura and Shizune had provided. Naruto wanted to cry. But he couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to break down and scream that nothing was fair and throw a tantrum, his body simply refused to respond any more.

He could hear them talking; the three women. They were discussing his mental health. What? Did they honestly expect him to react well to this…this…thing?! He certainly thought that he had every right to be speechless and on the verge of…well…something…something that certainly wasn't good anyway. Naruto had never been very good when it came to stuff like this. But he was pretty god damned sure that dude's could not get pregnant!

* * *

It hurt. An immense pain spreading throughout her whole body and she heard herself scream out as he thrust inside her again painfully. But truly she was numb. Her mind was completely elsewhere. It had become her form of dealing. She had desperately hoped that she would find her home empty upon return, but she was not so lucky.

She wished she knew how to get out of this. How to get away from him…she would do anything but…he had told her he loved her, and treated her so much better than all the others. She should have known it was a lie; that no man could ever make her happy. Now she was trapped. What if she was never free of him – forced to live a life of pain? She couldn't bear it.

How much longer until he comes? She thought absentmindedly as he continued to ravage her violently. She stared at her reflection in her vanity mirror opposite the bed. Her eyes didn't focus on what was happening but rather herself…how pitiful and weak she looked. Blood was smeared all over her pale skin and her usually bright blond hair was dirty with cum and dirt and blood. Her usually sparkling blue eyes shone only with misery and she wished to be seen for what she was.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Naruto questioned silently as his pink haired friend led him to a separate location within the Hokage tower that he'd never cared to notice before.

"This is the psychiatric ward. Don't worry. We don't think you're crazy but I think it would do you good to talk to someone. There is a psychiatrist here who I think would be able to help. Her name's Mijime I think, and I've heard she's very sweet."

Naruto frowned…he didn't want to go and talk to a stranger; he wanted to sulk and cry and moan like a little baby. He didn't think he needed to speak to anyone right now, but he knew that the women in his life generally knew what they were talking about – or liked to think they did – so he would go with it.

They entered a new room, it was very pale and reminded him of a hospital, though he had to admit it seemed like it could be a nursery too; just with less colours. So he had to concede, this place wasn't quite as bad as he thought it might be…there were no screaming bald men and the walls seemed firm enough for him to realize they didn't think him completely insane. They reached a door and stopped, he watched and waited as Sakura turned to him and smiled gently.

"I've met her a few times outside of here and she seems very friendly. Talk to her…I think she can help you get over the shock of this…concern, as Tsunade has dubbed it," She giggled, obviously trying to lighten the mood; it wasn't going to happen. She cleared her throat awkwardly, "well…anyways… I think you and her will get along well." She turned and walked away, but not without pausing to pass one last comment of 'have fun' before disappearing out of the area.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed open the door and stepped into a freshly scented room. It smelled of lavender and jasmine, immediately calming his senses and giving him a feeling of home. He looked around and noticed that the room was decorated rather differently from the rest of this ward. There were pictures and posters on the walls and everything was brightly coloured. A beautiful woman sat at a desk and placed in front of that was a yellow couch, as soon as she caught sight of the blond she smiled widely and stood up.

"What can I do for you, Naruto? I've heard so much about you…"

* * *

Sakura stared at the blank wall. She had just left Naruto with a stranger after the news they had given him; were they insane? Probably. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes in frustration. Tsunade had told her to keep an eye on Sasuke – apparently someone had told Naruto the Uchiha was unfaithful. _'What a load of shit!' _Her mind cursed at the fools who thought they could get away with spreading such a nonsense rumor.

She knew Sasuke well enough to realize that he would not stoop so low as to cheat; it wasn't in his nature. Sure…the guy kept to himself but he wouldn't hurt Naruto in such a way. She knew first hand how kind the dark haired boy could actually be; especially concerning the blond future Hokage.

Naruto should know this too! But he was obviously going to let the rumors get to him and not realize that Sasuke was better than that. Sakura was not blind though, she knew that Sasuke was keeping a secret; he was doing a lot of sneaking around. But she knew it couldn't be another lover – a woman at that! It was preposterous and she would not entertain such an idea any longer.

Letting her thoughts drift off the topic she calmly smiled to herself as she pictured what her wedding was going to look like. She and Lee had decided to get married two months from now; it seemed too long to wait, but they were ninja's and their job came first. Sakura had taken a good chunk of time off during the later months of her pregnancy and she was repaying it all now.

But when thinking of her and Lee finally binding themselves together officially it made her heart nearly leap out of her chest. She knew that a piece of paper truly meant absolutely nothing, but it was a vow and it was a promise to love each other until death do they part and Sakura had always been one for sappy romances…

* * *

Sasuke groaned as he twisted on the sofa. He knew it was late now and that fact made him nearly boil over with anger. Where the fuck was that dobe?! He had arrived home hours ago now and he hated waiting. He squeezed the soft fluffy cushions beneath his head hard, nearly tearing them apart, but he managed to hold himself back.

The only reason he had the god forsaken fluffy – fluffy! Of all things?! – pillows was because his stupid little boyfriend had insisted, and he could never say no to the imbecile. Even thinking of the blond now managed to make his pumping heart falter and calm. He sighed and rested his head against the pillow again.

She was right…he did need more anger management. _'Mijime…' _He smiled as he thought of the woman. He had a huge urge to go to her; she would be able to quell his raging fury; she always could. But he wouldn't. He'd sit here and let the rage burn until the boy returned.

* * *

Naruto's brow creased; this woman seemed awfully familiar with him as she began to lead him out of the building. He didn't ask where she was taking him; he was sure it was she who would be doing the questioning. She answered him anyway, seeming to read his mind like a book.

"We'll go to a restaurant downtown that I know you like. I prefer not to do these sessions at my office; it's far too uncomfortable for my clients. And from what sources tell me you hate being pressured so I'm sure you'll be happy with this."

Naruto couldn't keep himself from muttering to the girl, Mijime, "And who are these sources?" He wasn't sure that she'd heard him at all until he noticed her smile turned uneasy and her eyes glazed with bitterness. He frowned again, why on earth she would be bitter about him asking a question like that was beyond him.

"I'm sorry Naruto…that's confidential. I'd have to kill you if I told you." She said, like she really would kill him. The blond grew tense, what was with this girl? He knew she couldn't hurt him; he could feel by the way her body moved and the innocence in her eyes that she was not – nor had ever been - a ninja.

Suddenly laughter burst out of her supple lips and she doubled over from the force of it. It was only then that he realized that she was joking; trying to lighten the mood he supposed. It wasn't going to happen. His vision blurred slightly and he wound a hand around his middle, but he refused to cry, he would handle this as well as he could. But it wasn't the concept of children that terrified him – it was Sasuke.

"Come on, Naruto." Mijime's voice pulled him out of his worries for a moment as they headed down a street he knew all too well. It was only then that he realized; this girl really did know a lot about him. For there in front of him stood a stall he nearly worshipped.

Ichiraku Ramen.

* * *

An agonizing scream ripped from her throat as she felt him explode inside her, he refused to wear condoms, so sure that she would never tell anyone what he did to her. He was a higher ranking ninja than her; a Jounin whilst she was only Chuunin, and he seemed to believe that he would get away with raping a woman as wanton as her.

He had been, since at least a month prior to her mission.

She felt him pull out of her and vaguely heard him dress himself before slipping out of her small apartment. The blond simply rolled into her self and rocked; like she always did, silent tears fell from swelling eyes. Her beautiful form ached from the bruises and cuts that adorned her flesh. The old had healed while she had been on the mission and he hadn't liked that. Beating her much more brutally, caring not for the state of her body once he was finished – he knew her well – the ones she could not heal she would cover up with makeup and Genjutsu.

Crawling off of the bed, covered in blood, sperm and saliva from the rape, she made her way to the bathroom. She would bathe herself well and try in vain to wash all traces of him off and out of her body. Then she would do something she normally wouldn't; she would call Mijime.

Normally ninja like her would not need to use a phone but the casual citizens did and she had always felt like it saved a lot of time. Besides, due to the fact that Mijime was no ninja it was always more difficult to track her Chakra signature. Also, Ino was in no state to move anywhere but the security of her home. So the telephone would be a good option for her to contact her friend…after the bath that is.

* * *

A long sigh was emitted from the body as it lay on the couch; a scowl set firmly into place. Sasuke Uchiha could not get more impatient, he was slowly losing his mind…he'd always been a calm person though, and it seemed that only the dobe could ever break that mould, but at the moment he didn't care and his brain was racking desperately to find something distracting.

Finally though, it landed on a bottle of lotion sitting on the far corner of the room. It seemed it hadn't been moved since it was bought but the Uchiha knew for a fact he was not the one who purchased the lubricant. He frowned slightly – he and his boyfriend's last sexual experience had not been very fulfilling for Naruto. In fact Sasuke was sure he'd hurt his lover substantially. He felt bad and guilty…he really did need to control his anger.

And he would need to make it up to Naruto as well…perhaps he'd let the blond top him once he was finished giving him into trouble for being so late home tonight. But then he shook the thought from his mind – Naruto preferred to be the uke and he preferred to be seme so there really was no point in trading roles.

They had experimented a number of times in different ways and Sasuke was very comfortable with having Naruto take him once in a while; he did enjoy having his boyfriend inside him…though he would not say that he liked that better than topping, plus he was much better at a dominant role. Yet they never really did do such things any more; Sasuke was always seme because Naruto never wanted to be. It was as simple as that.

So perhaps he would take the blond somewhere romantic…like dinner or something. But then that wouldn't bode well either since neither himself nor Naruto were really into such things. Maybe he could cook dinner…no, it was too late at night now for that. Breakfast! He'd bring his lover breakfast in bed the next morning.

Sasuke made a mental promise that even if he was still mad at Naruto in the morning; he'd make him breakfast in bed. Somehow coming to this resolution actually helped Sasuke feel a little better; maybe things wouldn't be so bad when the dobe returned after all.

* * *

"Yes…I understand where you're coming from, I'm sure you're boyfriend will understand though..."

"You don't know Sasuke though. He might think I'm a total freak!" Mijime giggled a little before muttering 'oh dear god' and smiling kindly at him; as though he were a small child begging for cookies that he was declined. Naruto didn't like it one bit.

"Well…either way I think you should take this as a good thing and put your worries behind you. Tell me about what family you've had before now?"

Naruto was about to answer her question when a loud chirping sound began to ring through the air. At first Naruto was startled; he didn't like phones, he hated the noise they made even more; _'what a racket!' _A great way to put him in an even worse mood!

The dark haired woman in front of him laughed nervously before fishing the device from her hand bag, she appeared to check who was on the other line – obviously to see if it was more important than her job; it was. She quickly excused herself before wandering away from the stall, Naruto turned back to watch his cold ramen silently…he hadn't been able to eat and was thankful that Mijime had not pressed the matter.

Speaking of her, she re-entered the stall only a moment later. She looked rather unorganized and slightly distressed but Naruto paid it no mind, far too distracted with his own problems. He watched as she approached the counter to pay; something must have come up as she didn't sit back down only thanked him profusely for his time and told him that she would arrange for their next appointment and let him know.

Then she was gone.

* * *

Ino shook as she lay, waiting, on her plump sofa; she was contemplating how much she should tell Mijime. Everything? That would probably be the best thing to do…the right thing to do. But she did not want to do that, the blonde was far too afraid of the reaction she would get.

So maybe only some of it? She knew that if she opened the flood gates things would not end well. Though her dark haired companion certainly was patient and accepting, Ino could not see her being particularly approving throughout.

She had no more time to ponder such things however, as there was a swift knock on the door. Ino knew immediately who it was; her boyfriend – she cringed at the thought – would never knock before entering.

…Mijime.

* * *

Naruto didn't say anything as he entered the grand house. He didn't know what he should expect to come home to…and he didn't know what he would say if Sasuke was home.

He didn't have long to wait, however, because almost as soon as the door closed a frowning Sasuke was in his face. The blond wanted to yell, to scream and shout at his bastard of a boyfriend for being an arsehole and breaking his heart, but instead he just stood in the hall and watched the Uchiha with the same bemused, glum expression he had been wearing since the 'concern' had been brought to his attention.

"Where the hell have you been?! Do you know what time it is?! What the hell Naruto?!" The jinchuuriki didn't answer; he just continued to stare, silently contemplating how to say his next words. Sasuke studied his lover closely too…he seemed to realize that Naruto was not in top condition; his attitude was all mixed up. Sasuke felt a sharp pain when he realized that whatever was wrong with his boyfriend may have gotten worse while he was away.

"Hey, dobe, are you okay?" He reached out to touch the blonde's cheek, but his hand was sharply slapped away. They stared at each other for a few more moments before Sasuke decided to question the blond again – he was interrupted, though, before he could even utter a word. The next sentance made his body tingle and his mind numb…

"Are you cheating on me?"

Sasuke was now the one staring, an apathetic, guarded expression painted over his gorgeous features. He could see the pain in Naruto's eye; read from his body language that he was breaking down inside…it was only now that the Uchiha realized the extent of what he was causing his love. He couldn't even bring himself to answer; too ashamed of how badly he had destroyed the one person who meant more in his life than anybody else. He only hoped Naruto would be able to salvage some part of himself from the wreckage he was about to leave behind.

He opened his milky lips and said the words that he had always wished he would never have to say – words that he had cried over many times – words that he was positive the man in front of him would cry over as well.

"It's over." He controlled his features to match those of the jinchuuriki ahead of him; dead, empty, emotionless. "This has gone on long enough Naruto. I'm sorry for hurting you but I think this is where we should end. I always knew this day was going to come and I think if we end things here there is a chance of recovery…" Of course, he didn't really believe that.

"I'll have an apartment for you by your birthday. Don't worry about moving anything…I'll deal with all of that." Sasuke walked steadily to the door, not looking back once as he uttered the last word.

"Goodbye."

* * *

"Hey, Ino…what's the problem?" She said as she stepped into the warmth of the home. The blonde did not reply; she simply began to lead them further into her apartment until they found to living room. Of course, Mijime knew her way around Ino's house, she had been here before. She watched carefully as the kunoichi took a seat on her sofa – Mijime has always adored Ino's furnishings; they were all glamorous and pretty – before following the lead.

There was a blanket settled in the middle of the love seat and Mijime wasted no time in wrapping herself and the other girl in it. Since it seemed Ino had little intention to speak, Mijime idly wondered why she had been called here, the phone call had been rather frantic.

"Hey, hey…" she began, secretly hoping that Ino would start to tell her what was going on soon, "I have some news for you…" she continued and this time the blond did speak.

"So do I…" she said apprehensively.

Both girls turned to look at each other then, and a draft seemed to sneak into the flat, making both shiver in abrupt unease. The room fell silent for a moment before a pair of supple lips opened and words floated from them like a spell from a witch.

"I'm pregnant."

And all was silent…

* * *

**Wow…could their day get any worse?! I'm sorry if some of my readers hated it and I know that it is far from resolved, but it felt like such a good cliffhanger!!! I know I'm evil but if I'd continued it would have been way too long and my update is already dreadfully late. I really do hope you enjoyed the chapter, at least a little more than the last.**

**And maybe a few cleaver cookies will figure out what's going on…**

**Xx..xX**


	13. Dawn

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

I probably look rather dumb right now – just staring blindly ahead of me. Ino's looking at me pretty nervously; I'd be nervous too…if it were me in her position, though I doubt that is likely to happen. I've only had sex with a man once in my life and don't plan to do such a thing again.

"Naruto's a client of mine now…" I say distractedly – continuing what I was stating before she ruined everything - but Ino seems to know what this means; she knows I won't broach this subject at all. And I don't plan to. As far as I'm concerned she can do whatever she pleases with whoever she pleases…if I was just some silly little experiment of hers then she can get fucked by whatever she wants. I notice that my hands are shaking and clasp them together, hoping that she hasn't noticed.

I let an empty chuckle pass my lips. "Now I can help them both at the same time…you know, maybe this will help them…"

"Mijime." She interrupts me in a small voice and I peel my eyes away from my hands to meet her wide frantic blue pools – it's almost as if she expects me to yell at her. She should know me better. We stare at each other for a while before she starts telling me that everything isn't what I think it is, I almost stay to listen, but then the pain kicks in and I dash away through the building as fast as my legs can carry me. I know she can catch me if she wants to…but she doesn't follow me. This makes the pain more unbearable.

And then I'm running…the buildings and trees whiz past me in dazed, misty hues. The light glow from the moon is all that eliminates Konoha at night and I'm glad; this way even I don't have to acknowledge the wetness on my cheeks. I break free of the dreary, empty roads and dash along a muddy path, wet with mossy puddles. On my way my foot slips and I fall to my knees on the cold cobbles, it digs into my flesh and I groan at the feeling. But I pick myself up calmly and continue at a slower pace, conscious now of the slosh beneath my feet.

It takes me minutes more to reach my shitty little house. I love this house; it has been in my family for a long time and is one of the only reminders I have of my parents. I push the door open and swing it shut, kicking the bottom to make sure it stays closed; the lock doesn't work. I take my time as I make my way into the bedroom…I'm just trying to bide time; as soon as I hit the sheets my mind will fill with realization and I'll be crying all night. I don't want to do that. There isn't much that will make me cry and I don't plan to let some cheating bimbo ruin my mood.

This is when I realize – as I lay myself down – I'm probably not the one whose been cheated. It's more than likely that Ino has been the girlfriend of whomever for a lot longer than she's been seeing me. It hurts as the new information sinks in and, lying here, where we've both been time and time again, together, I know that trying to sleep is futile anyways. Nevertheless I heave myself up, grabbing the duvet and pillows as I go, and wander down the hall back towards the small living room. The floor boards creak below my feet like a tree in a storm and I wonder briefly if I should let Sasuke fix them. The few times he's visited this shack he's reminded me that he could fix it up no problem, but I like it this way.

I try to keep my mind fixated on other things while I lay on my old sofa, but the more active I keep my mind the more my body screams for sleep. Yet whenever I let myself drift out of consciousness I remember all the things she's said to me…the things we've done and the way she always seemed so genuine around me. The way she never seemed to be around everyone else. Not even her best friend Sakura would get to see the real her. Not often anyway.

And today…she had seemed so…eager; desperate and wanting of me. It was the first time she had taken the initiative and kissed me. I was always the first to make a move and she always followed. She'd told me…that she wanted to be with me. I remember how happy I'd felt in her arms, how free and calm I could be with her. Then I remember how she'd left so suddenly afterwards and I can't help but wonder…was it him she was going to? Damn! Argh! This is so not helping!

Desperation pushes me to think of events that might, hopefully, redirect my mood. Sasuke had said something before he left for his mission – my thoughts try to remind me of Ino's participation in said mission, but I block them out - about a party for Naruto, and, though I haven't spoken to him since he returned, it's probably still set for the day after…today? So tomorrow really, since I'm more than certain it must be early morning by now. This is good news then…in about 24 hours I can start helping Sasuke prepare things.

My mind stops dead in its tracks at that thought; Ino will be helping as well. Damn…I really don't feel like seeing her face again, and if I can help it; ever! Wow; I'm probably really screwed since I work in the Hokage tower where she'll likely be passing by often. Life really does suck…and I used to wonder why all my clients were depressed idiotic bums.

There is a brief banging at my door before I hear the obvious snaps and pops of the hinge twisting around. You can't knock at my door without opening it…unless you hold the handle that is which my uninvited guest seems too preoccupied to do.

I really can't be bothered going to get it so I just lay and listen as the visitor lets themselves in. How polite. My sarcasm genuinely concerns me. I've never been a bitter person and more often than not I take things very calmly. Strange that _she _seems to have had an effect on me. I hear the footsteps enter the room and look towards the door to see a tattered and bloody Sasuke standing in the doorway. Speak of the devil.

"Well, look who it is? Welcome to my lovely abode. Don't bother complaining about my house again, especially since you've invited yourself in so rudely. Though I must say it's quite the coincidence you know…I was just thinking about you and your 'dobe'." I don't know why I choose to say so much, I must be clinging to the distraction, though strangely enough my words cause a pained, almost haunted look to flicker on my favorite clients face right before he dips his head. He must be trying to push me out of his head. He doesn't succeed. Being a psychiatrist has its perks; I'm extraordinarily good at reading people.

I sigh heavily before pulling myself to sit and patting the space beside me, disregarding the unclean state of him in favor of helping him out; it isn't the first time he's vented his frustrations through brutal training before seeing me. He moves fluently and I only notice the slight stiffness in his shoulders – definitely not from his injuries - because I'm trained to notice these things. Sadly.

"I can't be your shrink tonight, Sasuke." I say to him lowly, and I can't, I'm in no frame of mind to be giving advice on other's love life. "But I will try to listen and…understand. Though that's unlikely since I'm speaking to you." I close my eyes and try to clear my head before I explode; I know he is struggling for words; he's never been a talker; I get most of my work done through guesses.

"What did you do this time, Sasuke?" Because I know he's done something. He always does something. He's a masochist - emotionally. An emotional masochist that sadly needs to damage others in his quest for pain. I shouldn't be judgmental though, I don't expect my clients to be completely sane, and Uchiha Sasuke definitely isn't. I wish it wasn't true but the boy really is messed up in the head; he can't process things normally any more, and I have read his background and I do have a very good idea when – and why - that happened, and it is something that I can help him through. Though it will take time. He's more damaged than most of the people I see. It's really a good thing I like him; He's lucky; I know for a fact that most people don't.

"Uh…I…I…" He stutters for a few moments more before I worry about his health. This is certainly not the Sasuke I'm used to seeing, in fact…He looks a little sick, perhaps I should get him to a toilet. I'm not too fussed about having dirt in my home but vomit is off limits. It smells and I would have to clean it up. I place a hand on his shoulder, trying to urge him up so that he can make his way to the bathroom, when I catch sight of something glistening on his face and freeze in my movements.

Deciding that it is probably in my best interests not to let the boy know what I've seen – the fact that his head is tucked so close to his chest proves he'd rather no one saw him like this – I clamber up from my makeshift sofa-bed and trod along to the small kitchen at the back of my house. Sasuke ignores me for the most part, but it seems he has found his voice as he murmurs words I'm not too willing to believe.

"It's over."

My footsteps falter and my hands clench, but hitting him will do no good now. The damage caused by this will not be fixed by my fury. So I continue, if a little faster, on my journey to the kitchen. Once there I rest myself against the cabinets and sink to the ground with a gentle thud. At least now I have something to take my mind off of Ino…I'd always hoped that things would not come to this. I had tried to persuade him so many times that leaving his boyfriends was simply a bad idea. He was adamant that he needed to revive his clan.

I groaned into my knees. As much as I wanted to sympathize with the boy I simply couldn't. Not right now at least. Perhaps if certain things had not unfolded tonight then maybe I could have tried to look at things from his perspective. But right now I could only see through my eyes, and I knew that somewhere at the other side of Konoha, in the Uchiha estate, there were eyes that could see the same things I could. I knew as soon as this revelation hit me that I couldn't stay here. If I did I would be tempted to take a kitchen knife to Mr. Uchiha's throat, and knowing him he might let me - that would help nobody.

I'd need to say a few things first though, baring in mind my temper at the moment isn't too safe for him, he'll probably take everything I'm about to say in stride before I have to leave. Thankfully. I don't know what'll happen if he doesn't.

* * *

''…_**kill him! Set me free and I'll rip his fucking throat out! Let me give you my power and we can…' **_Naruto frowned; a pillow smothered his howl of frustration as he lay in bed. Kyuubi would not shut up! All Naruto wanted was the sleep! He really didn't want to be awake much longer because the more he heard these ridiculous proposals the more he wanted to carry them out. For some reason Naruto had been sure he'd feel more heartbroken when Sasuke finally broke it off. But the sharp pain he'd felt when Sasuke walked out the door had immediately been replaced with fury – a fury that Kyuubi backed up enthusiastically.

How dare he, though! The bastard had the nerve to cheat on him! Uchiha fucking Sasuke had the guts to cheat on Him! Naruto Uzumaki…practically a walking sex god!

Okay, so maybe he wasn't as great as he'd always thought…and Sasuke had always been so sure he was better in every way shape and form. But now was not the time to be dwelling on that bastard, as long as Naruto could keep the tears that burned behind his eyelids from bursting free then he'd be fine.

"Kyuubi!" He roared at the top of his lungs, hoping to somehow break through her insistent tantrum. He used to hate Kyuubi, and this way why; before they'd began to associate better and talk civilly the only time the demon had spoken was to slate him and push for control, which, of course, he never gave. Nowadays he and Kyuubi often swapped leading roles, though he still found her much too vicious, she got the job done in her own way. Not that he slacked off…he only let her take control when she was especially insistent or if he was tired – completely for his own convenience of course.

'**What?!' **The deep baritone pounded in his skull, Kyuubi really was much calmer as a woman.

'_Instead of trying to get me to…to hurt…__'_ wow, it was harder to say the name than he'd thought, _'instead of trying to make me do something I'll regret, why don't you explain how you managed to get me p-pregnant?'_

'_**Argh…For that lousy bastard! I shouldn't have even bothered…'**_ He should have known this approach wouldn't work, but he was in no mood to think up any other distractions for her to play with. Naruto once again tried in vain to tune her out. He knew it was his fault she was so angry. The anger belonged to him. Kyuubi was really helping him – stealing all the pain so that he only felt numb.

He tried to focus on distant sounds, outside his mind, but found that the only noise in the room was the ticking of his bedside clock. Oh no, he reminded himself, that wasn't his bedside clock. This wouldn't be his house much longer either, what did he have? One day? Great…he should probably trash the place, see how the asshole likes that.

Just then though, a rather horrifying thing happened. Naruto realized he was not alone in the room. There was a shadow against the wall. He knew immediately that the intruder was a woman – the curves proved that much – but such information was insignificant. He had not noticed someone sneaking into the house…not only that but upon further inspection he noticed this girl was only a civilian; her chakra level was way to low for that of a trained ninja.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?!" Naruto ignored the fact that it wasn't his house at all; this stranger didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry…" Her voice was meek and shaky, as if on the verge of tears, "The door was unlocked and I…I just really needed someone to talk to." Her voice broke at the end and Naruto finally made the connection. This was Mijime. It didn't take her long to stumble over to the bed and throw herself at him. He caught her skillfully as she collapsed against him, her tears uncontrollable but her noise well contained.

She made little sound as she lay against him and wept, and although the blond had no idea what had upset her, he found himself comforted by her presence. Although he'd only known her a small time, she'd seemed very kind, not that he'd been paying attention, but she'd made a point of being nice and treating him with equality.

He didn't notice when his body unconsciously pulled her under the covers with him, or when they let themselves fall asleep. Neither of them managed to break away from their troubles, but at least sleep brought a simple silence from the chaos.

* * *

The morning brought a bright, near blinding light shining on Naruto's face and waking him from a restless sleep. The empty bed coupled with the gorgeous smell wafting through the mansion told him that Mijime had already risen. He grumbled to himself lightly, trying to discover a reason to crawl from the warm sheets. Eventually though, he found that reason when he remembered that hosts are supposed to treat guests to breakfast and make sure they were entertained; his 'guest' was downstairs coking herself breakfast – and him too, he hoped – with no entertainment whatsoever. Nice.

Making his way downstairs he couldn't help to sniff at the air, his Kyuubi senses strengthening the smell until he thought he'd drown in the tempting vapors. It smelled like eggs and rice mostly, like he expected of breakfast. He hoped she could cook; he didn't want her to waste effort if he didn't eat it.

Though, as he walked into the kitchen to see Mijime dashing around the kitchen in a calm flurry and the small dishes already laid out on the breakfast bar in the centre of the room, he had to smile; it looked great! From what he could see she had prepared some miso soup, along with a bowl of freshly boiled rice with small chunks of grilled fish, a simmered dish that he didn't recognize and also tamagoyaki, he saw as she turned and placed the remaining dishes down before she sat down herself. Yeh, just the traditional breakfast stuff, but she'd made it look gorgeous.

"Wow…I didn't know you could cook." He said, feeling silly after he thought about it. Of course he didn't know that, he barely knew the girl – Speaking of which…

"Why did you come here last night anyways?" he said before she had time to reply to his first train of thought. Though his words were harsh – he couldn't help it, Kyuubi was quiet but she was still stealing his feelings, even the normal ones – Naruto meant well and the dark haired beauty seemed to realize that.

She blushed deeply, glancing down at her fingers as she picked at her food – Naruto knew the feeling…he wasn't very hungry either, though the food was nice, not as nice as it looked but not horrible. "I…I'm sorry about that," she giggled nervously. "I'm really not like that normally…And I'm not just saying that either; I really never cry." For some reason Naruto believed her, despite the scene she had caused last night. "And I wouldn't normally have come here but… I just didn't know who else to go to…" Her voice broke off as she laughed that uneasy laugh again.

"What happened?" I asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

This time her laugh was real – if only a little mocking. "Look at me, here I am about to get advice from someone, hah! I'm the psychiatrist!" Naruto couldn't help but smile with her; she had something about her that made you want to be happy.

"Well," she started, looking away. "It's my…partner…or at least she _was_." She took a swift glance up at the jinchuuriki's face, not that she felt he would be disgusted at a same-sex relationship – he was in one himself. Well, he _was_. "She told me last night that she's pregnant. Heh, she probably thought it was the smartest way to drop me like the garbage I am to her." Her tone turned biter and Naruto sighed, he knew the feeling. Strangely enough, the blond hadn't taken long to figure out that, of course, lesbians couldn't produce children - the other one had been with a guy.

"I know how you feel." Because he did. Absolutely. At least, he had, before Kyuubi had taken it upon herself to shield him from it. It wouldn't last though, he would have to deal with it sooner or later; you couldn't get over something unless you faced it.

"You do?" She sounded confused, which confused Naruto as well. Then he remembered, _'oh yeh…she doesn't know about…Sasuke.' _Ouch, Kyuubi couldn't stop the pain from flooding his senses when he _thought_ about it.

"Naruto?" Her voice cut through his troubling thoughts, thankfully.

"Sorry…Sasuke ended it last night. There was someone else. I guess he wanted to find a girl before he left me." He tried not to think about it as he spoke, but it was hard. He knew his expression was giving him away; set in a permanent grimace as he tried to shrug it off. Mijime was too shocked to notice as she stared at him with frown on her pretty face.

"How do you know?" She asked - confusion apparent in her voice, "did Sasuke tell you that?" And then suddenly an anger Naruto didn't understand filled her expression and the blond could only stare, trying to understand why she was so mad.

"No…well, yeh he did…He didn't deny it anyways." It was getting harder and harder to talk about this; Mijime's curiosity was costing him. "Iruka-sensei said that he'd over heard a conversation with some girl that was going on about her dates with Sasuke. And he's been sneaking out and stuff…I didn't want to…Didn't think he would…" Naruto trailed off, his voice had begun to break and he wouldn't embarrass himself by crying over that jerk.

A groan made his eyes – which had redirected themselves to his unfinished breakfast – turn back to his audience. She had her face in her hands and was laughing again, though this time it was even stranger; like a giggle you'd expect from someone insane. Before he could ask her what had gotten into her, she snapped her head up and her eyes were filled with something Naruto didn't understand.

"It makes so much sense now." She remembered the strange things he'd said early in the morning _'"I can't hurt him any more."…"You should have seen him, Mijime, he was being insecure, he really believed…urgh!" I didn't understand then, he was talking about this. He didn't even realize it was me…that there was reason for Naruto to feel that way. Even though I've told him countless times to tell him about the sessions…this just gets worse and worse.' _

"Sasuke's isn't cheating on you." She said bluntly, as if she knew everything. Naruto was about to interrupt her but she spoke too fast. "I'm the girl." And Naruto froze…his brain locking down further as Kyuubi restrained his emotions. _'No…'_ But he could still hear her talking – why was she still talking? Why wasn't she dead yet…oh yeh, because his body had stopped working too. He wasn't even breathing. Mijime continued regardless and Naruto found himself completely confused by her explanation.

"I've been seeing him for a few months now. Ino," she spat the name "was the one who introduced me to him, said he was really messed up. She was right, he's one of the worst clients I've had, and I've had bad. To begin with he was very reluctant, but after a while he softened up. I think he depends on the sessions now; it's helping him. I did tell him to let you know he had a shrink, but you know how full of pride he is, he didn't want to seem weak to you – didn't want you to know that he was unstable in any way I guess. Sorry for the misunderstanding…I was under the impression he planned to tell you on your birthday but…" It was probably best not to continue this subject; she could see how much this hurt him.

Naruto however, had different thoughts. He certainly would be continuing the conversation. But not with Mijime. "Excuse me," he said and left the room, walking through the house until he reached the bedroom again and curling up in the sheets. He might have felt a little guilty for leaving the rest of Mijime's breakfast had his mind not been so full of this new information.

Damn…this was going to take some time to grasp.

* * *

Hinata hated being pampered like this. Neji really shouldn't spoil her so. Besides, giving her all that money was pointless when she made enough of her own for the necessities. _'But he doesn't want me to buy necessities'_ she reminded herself as she stepped grudgingly into the jewelers store. _'He wants me to buy luxuries'_ As if she didn't get enough of those from Kiba. When was she ever going to have the time to wear the jewelry she already had. Let alone adding to the stock.

Nevertheless she wondered through the store, marveling at the style and lushness of the décor, the jewelry was sparkling and lovely too but she found it hard to marvel at such things when she knew where they came from. But her family expected her to have glorious things like diamonds – blood diamonds – to make her look pretty. Kiba never given her diamonds…he gave her other things, things that were deemed uninteresting and cheap to her family.

Like a bracelet he had given her for her last Christmas. It had been really precious, a small thin string with little pendants on it. They were hand carved by her boyfriend and were all different – mostly dog related, but they were awfully sweet. She'd gotten to wear it for six whole days until her father had spotted it and torn it from her dainty wrist. Kiba'd said it was nothing, that he'd make her another one, which he did, but that wasn't the point; she could never wear it for fear that it would be destroyed.

As Hinata continued to wander through the shop, her eyes sweeping over the pieces swiftly and dazed, she spotted someone she never thought she'd see in a jewelry store. Uchiha Sasuke. He was standing at the counter and discussing something with the sales assistant, who was taking detailed notes on a pad, she noticed with curiosity. What was he doing here?

It wasn't until the man serving him – an older man with a small, roughly carved beard and warm eyes – had receded to the back of the store that she managed to command her body in his direction. Nervousness took hold of her immediately. What if the boy glared at her…or if he told her to go away in front of all these people.

There was only one other lady in the shop.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" She began, but was startled enough to jump away slightly as he turned towards her promptly. He collected his previously shocked face instantaneously – shock and some other emotion she was sure had been swimming in his eyes – but nothing could get passed her eyes. She wouldn't say anything, of course.

"What a-are you doing h-here, Sasuke-kun?" She always tried to improve her stutter but it didn't help to try with someone as impassive as the male in front of her. She always felt extremely agitated – more so than usual – when she was around him, at least he relaxed when Naruto was around.

"Just having a look while I wait for 'Property Purchasers' to finish." He answered swiftly, looking back behind the counter as the sales man returned. Hinata watched disquisitively as Sasuke signed a few papers before signing what looked something like a cheque – Hinata wouldn't know, it was uncommon for Ninja to use cheques since they spent money so readily, making it impossible to save anything – during which time the man behind the desk inquired in a warm voice 'So…whose the lucky lady?' Sasuke had ignored him as he signed the last of the papers, bid Hinata a hasty goodbye – the fact that he deliberately avoided eye contact as he did so did not go unnoticed - and darted out of the store with a fancily wrapped box and bag in hand.

Hinata couldn't help following to the window to watch him walk away. She knew that Property Purchasers was located right next door to this jewelers, she had guessed that was why Sasuke had taken a look round here whilst waiting, but as she watched him walk further and further up the road, it became apparent that he had no intention of stepping foot inside that place.

* * *

'_Look, you need to sort this out. No more! You need to get this finished! You have to decide what you're going to do. Right now. Just think about your options before doing anything that will ruin both your lives, for Kami's sake! And once your sure that you're doing __this for reasons that fit your wishes – yes, yours! Not someone else's – then you can walk right on out of here and do whatever it is you decide to do.'_

…

'_Don't you dare do something that will cause more damage than has already been done unless you're sure it is best. And I mean for everyone! Because I know for a fact that my fucking parents are not fretting over me having children – they are more interested in me having a happy life! They always were! If your parents aren't then I don't even know why you're so determined to please them!'_

**Ok. So I hope you guys are happy. =D My little twist has been unraveled. Some came real close to guessing!! But I think I lost a few readers with this little plot bunny. Oh dear…**

**Thankies for reading, I hope you enjoyed!**

**Xx..xX**

* * *


	14. Question

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

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Ok, so Mijime wasn't sure exactly what to do here. She was in desperate need of a distraction once more but doubted the blond wanted company. She'd been sure that letting him know that her and Sasuke's relationship was purely platonic would help, but it seems that Naruto was a little shocked. Perhaps she shouldn't have told him everything at once. It was kind of Sasuke's job to tell him these things, though she still doubted he'd tell the jinchuuriki about having a psychiatrist. Not that the Uchiha was going to find out she'd told him.

Speaking of the raven…Mijime's mind wondered back to the conversation that had taken place before she'd left her house last night.

_I return to the living room to be greeted with the very same sight I left behind. He takes the hot chocolate from me though, so he must be thirsty. I'd made myself a cup too, but realized I couldn't drink it…it might make me sick. Looking him up and down I try to quench my anger. I know from experience that letting rage overtake my mind will not help anything, especially not when dealing with th__e clients – which, although I don't want to have to see him as such right now, Sasuke is. _

"_Sasuke," I start confidently; it's the best way to __begin a lecture. He doesn't reply, simply keeps his head bowed as if staring into his cup. _

"_You can't stay here forever, Sasuke. This ain't a big house. Besides…you have priorities…" I trail off, trying to get a reaction – I should know better by now, but it seems I'll never get used to his stoic attitude. "Well, listen. I'm leaving tonight. Don't know when I'll be back but just…I dunno, just don't do anything…erm…well…" I change my mind…he won't do anything stupid anyway. "Ok so don't fix anything around my house. I know you always try to make things better around here but I like it the way it is."_

_After another pause I decide to be blunt with him, any other way will not work. "You have other things to be fixing right now. Like that head of yours could really do with a sort out." At this he glares at me, at least I'm getting a reaction. "Don't look at me like that, Sasuke." I scold him like a child, this will keep his attention. _

"_You need to decide what your going to do, and don't say that you've already decided because you haven't. You need time so stay here whilst I'm gone and try to sort out what you are going to do. If you decide to leave him then you'll have to sort that out," though I really don't want him to go down that road, it will kill them both, "and if you decide to stay with him then you'd better have a very good apology." I'm shocked when he actually speaks back to me. _

"_I can't…" I frown, well that makes sense; this boy__'s constantly telling me he can't. Coward. "I can't hurt him any more." He continues and I stay silent, I know there is more to come, I can see in his face that this is painful for him, frustrating too. _

_His head snaps up and his eyes blaze with fury – fury at himself. "You should have seen him, Mijime, he was being insecure, he really believed…urgh!" I try to look understanding, but what did he expect really? When you break up with someone they aren't going to look 'over-the-moon' happy about it. He's not looking at me any more and – though I wish I could say it's the first time in my career – I am speechless, so I just pick myself up and start for the door. _

_When I get there though, I know I have to remind him; he has priorities. "Just fix yourself, Sasuke. Do what __**you**__ want. If you don't it'll kill you." And I walk away._

She wondered if he'd figured anything out, like, perhaps he'd realized that it was her who Naruto thought he was cheating with. Mijime mentally snorted, as if they could ever have a relationship like that. Sasuke was far too frustrating even if they weren't into a totally different sex; their own. It was sort of strange in a way. The Uchiha liked what she should while she liked what he should and somewhere in the middle someone had thought they were dating. How…ironic.

She sighed and picked herself up from the breakfast bar. Washing the dishes felt like a chore on her tired hands but she continued, trying hard to make the distraction last. But, damn, plates really didn't take very long to wash and she was finished in less than five minutes. Huffing to herself, she wondered through the house – it wasn't like Sasuke had never walked through her house…not mentioning the fact that his dining room was the length of her little shack.

She hummed a tune as well as she trailed the halls, obviously getting herself lost, or trying to; at least that would amuse her for a short time. Somewhere around the east side of the mansion she came across a large wooden door. It was the only thing left in this direction but at the same time she knew there was nothing after this room either. She toyed with the idea of going in – it would help her sees Sasuke's mental state more clearly as well, depending on the state of the room…if he cleaned it, if he visited it, if he didn't.

But she backed out at the last minute. She couldn't go into the dojo. The thought of entering there gave her a chill and it wasn't long before she was out of the house. She'd heard mumbles from the master bedroom when she passed but couldn't decipher them as sobs or a conversation with Kyuubi. It was probably the latter, she had an inkling Naruto's feelings were being kept away from him. The fox could actually be quite useful and if that idiot Sasuke decided to do the right thing then there would be no need for Naruto to feel pain at all as long as Kyuubi continued to steal his emotions.

The blond had told her all about the fox during their session the night before. Gosh…was it really only that long ago? It felt much longer…like years away from all that had happened last night. And to think, they'd only returned from their mission the day before as well.

Not sure where to go or where her thoughts were taking her – dangerously close to a certain blond girl – Mijime found herself at her own doorstep. When in doubt annoy Sasuke. Of course she was only joking. She couldn't do that to clients. Then again…Clients weren't supposed to come to her home uninvited. A giggle passed her lips at the thought of it; must be dangerous, since she was only a civilian. But it would certainly be a distraction.

The house was eerily silent as she walked through it, the sound of her floorboards creaking under her soft steps. Perhaps Sasuke had left already? But where would he be.

It turned out that Sasuke had not, in fact, left the cottage. He'd simply decided to steal her bed. Mijime felt her patience snap…it was really becoming a problem - she was usually so care free. She grumbled to herself as she trailed through her house. As much as she'd like to bother Sasuke, it was probably in everyone's best interests if he was left to think. She'd talk to him later.

* * *

Ino watched as her best friend emerged from behind the dressing room curtain, it seemed she was trying on every dress in the store. Ino smiled brightly and nodded with extreme enthusiasm while Sakura flaunted the dress. The blonde tried to look genuine, she really did, but it was hard to do when all you wanted was to be somewhere else, with someone else, someone who you had undoubtedly hurt in a moment of complete insanity. Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through Kaname's hair, the baby sure was spoilt. It had been hard for Sakura and Lee at first, but now Sakura had lessened her working hours so that she was with the baby more.

Honestly, what had she been thinking, breaking the news of her pregnancy to Mijime the way she had? The least she could have done was explain about herself and the father first. Perhaps then the girl would have stayed to listen, perhaps even give her support…and…love. Love like she had given her for what seemed like so long now, when really it could only have been a little over two months.

She had met Mijime in the Hokage tower when she was there visiting Sakura. Mijime had been sitting with some friends in the Medics lounge. She mentally snorted at the name; it was more like a place for employees to gather whilst they were on their break.

The dark haired beauty had spoken to her there, she'd been alone and Mijime – as well as her friends – had introduced themselves. They had gotten speaking and had arranged to meet again, of course, Ino hadn't know then that friendship was not what lay ahead of them…she wondered if she'd known would she have stumbled into this mess the same way.

Shaking her head minutely she turned her attention back to Sakura, the girl was currently whining because she'd noticed something on the glorious dress that she didn't care for and was going to have to try on yet another wedding gown. Ino was just glad she was too busy to notice that there was something wrong with her.

* * *

There was silence in the master bedroom of the Uchiha mansion for a short moment, whilst a blond shinobi attempted to sort out this new discovery; it seemed that Kyuubi had been paying far more attention the things than he had.

"So…let me get this straight…" he paused a moment again, running through everything as Kyuubi waited – seemingly patient, though Naruto knew otherwise, the fox must have been having a hard time taking all of his emotions off his back. At least it gave him a chance at understanding the situation.

"Sasuke…wasn't cheating on me at all, and Mijime is just his psychiatrist or whatever…and everything was a misunderstanding…so now…I've pushed Sasuke away without any reason…" Kyuubi growled at the new onslaught of grief, and Naruto almost felt bad for the fox, but then realized that it would only make things worse since Kyuubi would be the only one to feel it. The numbness was getting rather alright now, not as strange as it had been in the beginning. Naruto couldn't even bring himself to care that tomorrow was his birthday – or maybe he could…he just couldn't_ feel_ that he cared.

"As for the pregnancy thing…you're gonna have to run that by me again, you totally lost me the first time." He heard Kyuubi sigh but couldn't decipher it as a sigh of stress or a sigh of relief or a sigh of humor. He didn't care anyways.

"Kit…pay more attention." He started, sounding aggressive as usual. Naruto remembered him saying something before about how with so much of his chakra in use it was far easier to stay in his male fox form, never mind which was easier to live with.

"It was rather easy, to be honest. And to put it simply for you this time; I basically built you a chakra womb," he paused a moment "it's a little more complex than that, I had to shift things around to get it to fit and even more so once they began growing but I released a painkiller into you so that you wouldn't feel anything…for a while anyway-"

"So that's those weird stomach aches I sometimes get?!" Naruto interrupted rudely, only to be growled at and ignored; wisely, Naruto chose not to press the subject.

"Stress ain't good for them, other wise I'd let you live with this whole Sasuke issue," he spoke the words like venom, "but, alas, I'd rather my hard work didn't go for nothing." He stopped then, and Naruto wondered if he was going to continue…it couldn't be that simple…they were both guys…where'd the egg come from? He was pretty sure there was an egg that came into play when making babies.

Seeming to read his mind, Kyuubi continued after a moment. "The rest was easy. Once I'd set up the womb I simply gathered your sperm together and using my amazing power I made them into an egg…well, it was a little less simple but I don't think your little brain will understand the chemistry so I'll leave it at that." Not giving the blond a chance to argue, Kyuubi continued swiftly. "Then I needed some from the Uchiha which was a little harder to get since it was only inside of you at particular intervals and even then, there wasn't much for me to work with. That's why I released an aphrodisiac, well actually it was norepinehprine(1) through your body…making you pretty irresistible."

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait a minute! Was that that time when we had that argument and…And Sasuke came home and…And…Oh, my god! That wasn't a punishment at all then was it?!"

Kyuubi chuckled darkly. "Nope, I made everything up, I staged the whole thing, making sure the timing was right so that you'd think that was your punishment for disagreeing with me. Anyway…After that night I had all the sperm I needed from him to get things moving in the right direction – it was just a case of placing the components together and watching chemicals react." He sounded so proud, like Naruto was some experiment, a guinea pig to be tested and fucked around as much as needed. The thought didn't bother him, but he felt a smudge of satisfaction knowing that it will have bothered Kyuubi instead.

"Are we going to stay in bed all day, Kit?!" his angry voice bellowed in Naruto's ears. But his answer stayed calm, a sigh; 'yes.'

* * *

Mijime stalked through the market of Konoha. She'd decided to get out of the cottage for a while – give Sasuke more time to think. She'd said all that was needed, all she could do now was hope that they'd get through this. Picking up a bag of apples from a stall she quickly gave the man behind the counter a smile and the money. She always bought fruit for herself when she was at the market. She'd been told numerous times that she was a very healthy person and she probably agreed with them.

She'd tried to get Ino to eat more fruit, the blonde never ate anything healthy so how she continued to stay so beautifully shaped was beyond her. Thinking about Ino made Mijime's heart ache and she wished now more than ever that she could just forget about the kunoichi. Just then, though, a too familiar voice seemed to echo through the street and Mijime turned her head at her name in reflex, immediately wishing she hadn't.

A pretty – somewhat tired looking – pink haired girl was pushing a dainty buggy down the street and watching the women beside her with confusion. Said woman beside her happened to be the most gorgeous thing Mijime had ever laid eyes on; her long platinum blonde hair fluttered around her in the light breeze, creating a frame for her lovely pale face, her shimmering blue eyes, her rosy plump lips.

Mijime ran.

It took Ino barely a moment to make up her mind. And then she was chasing. Chasing and calling. Calling Mijime's name so loud that she thought her throat would rip out. Stopping, she remembered that she was a ninja; she could easily use her enhanced chakra to reach the girl in no time. Pushing Chakra into her legs she started for the raven, but when she went to move, her whole body was jerked back against a firm chest.

Her mind went blank and her body went cold. _'no…' _was all that she could think as her 'boyfriend' began leading her home, a seemingly innocent hand placed on the small of her back, pushing her forward – towards her flat. Suddenly she could hardly breathe, her throat went tight and she felt herself tear up.

'_Mijime…'

* * *

_Sasuke felt extremely…overwhelmed with emotion as he stood in front of the door. His door. He shouldn't be frightened of entering his own home. That would be crazy, ludicrous, out of the question…

He raised his hand as if to knock, but changed his mind at the last minute. _'You're not supposed to knock on your own door. Just walk in you fucking coward'_ He winced slightly at the hast and agitation his thoughts carried. He was loosing his composure, and fast. Sighing deeply he made a move to open the door – slowly, trying to make as little noise possible – and stepped into the entrance hall. A feeling he was so unfamiliar, that he hadn't felt for so long that he'd forgotten what it was like, gripped him; nailing him to the spot in a rigid, erect stance. _Fear._

'_Oh for goodness sakes move!'_came his harsh and angry monologue. He closed his eyes and concentrated on sorting his thoughts, but he couldn't remember…what was he going to say again? Shit, he was so screwed. Battling his inner turmoil constantly, he took another breath and began for the stairs. He needed to see Naruto.

The climb seemed be over far too soon and within moments it seemed, he was standing outside his bedroom door, he could feel the chakra within it was his…Naruto's, but he could also feel that it was faint. He was sleeping. Pushing open the door and placing himself inside, Sasuke realized he had been right. The blond was huddled under the covers, his feet were peeking out from the bottom of the mass of quilt. His face, too, which was what had Sasuke's attention right away, was visible, just a small mop of yellow frizz and a calm, resting face. Sasuke was at the bedside within a second.

He sat there, watching Naruto's sleeping face with unwavering interest, for longer than he'd admit. Why'd this have to be so hard…though, he supposed it was slightly better; at least this didn't hurt…yet. After some time, though, his nervousness tripled as Naruto groaned tiredly before struggling through the layers of covers to get his hands free. Sasuke stopped breathing.

It seemed, though, that even without breathing, Naruto could still sense his chakra. The blond froze in his motions, his arms halfway out from under the duvet, and peeked open an eye. It closed quickly and his arms dropped, Sasuke wondered if he was pretending to sleep again. But it seemed Sasuke was not so lucky; the blond blinked open both eyes a few minutes later and Sasuke suspected he'd been conversing with Kyuubi.

The was silence in the room for a long moment, eventually though, Sasuke couldn't stand it any longer – strange, that was usually Naruto – and opened his mouth to begin what he'd come her to do. The words stuck in the throat. He coughed feebly; an attempt to keep himself from looking like he was speechless. Because he wasn't speechless; he'd planned a whole, big, long speech. He just couldn't get his mouth to do what his brain said. After what seemed like forever of struggling, Naruto lost his patience, it seemed.

"Spit it out already. It can't be that hard." Sasuke nearly flinched at his tone and the anxiety threatened to rip him to shreds. Naruto had sounded so mean. God, Sasuke couldn't believe he had just thought that! Naruto - mean. Those two words did not bode well together and besides, since when did Uchiha's even sound like whining school kids; _'he's being mean to me'_ the voice in his head mocked him. Sasuke suddenly felt very sick. In his state of apprehension, he only barely heard Naruto's grunt of impatience. It almost seemed like the future Hokage was nervous too. But that couldn't be true – Sasuke was sure nobody alive could feel the way he was feeling right now.

He wanted to run away; hide and never come back out. He couldn't though, because there was also a sort of excitement bubbling under the surface, pushed so far back it was barely there any more – but it was. And Sasuke couldn't ignore it. Still, he couldn't force the words he'd planned out of his mouth. So instead he got straight to the point.

Looking at the suddenly very interesting bed, Sasuke visibly shuddered as the words finally escaped his lips. "Will you...marry me?" The was a tense and utterly uncomfortable atmosphere that settled upon him; Sasuke felt completely cold, freezing, so much that he thought he'd shiver again. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like there was something big shoved down his throat – his stomach felt sick in a way it never had before. And his eyes threatened to tear when Naruto spoke.

"No."

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**(1)**** Yes, this is actually real, you can go look it up. Though it's basically the opposite of aphrodisiac, or has the reverse effect; attracting people to you and making them horney rather than you. Don't even ask how it's pronounced 'cause I don't have a clue. **

**Ok. I know it's been, like, really, really late. I have to warn you all, though. My computer caught a virus – well actually it was spyware; same kind of thing though really. Anyways…it completely messed my computer up. I tried everything I could to get rid of the thing, in the end I had a computer that was barely alive; I was unable to access all my files and I basically lost **_**everything**_** I was soo lucky that I'd emailed all my stories to myself straight away – to be sure that I wouldn't loose them. Anyways, after all that work to try and save everything; my computer crashed and my uncle – who is a genius – took my computer for a week to fix it. Then after that I had to reinstall everything I wanted, I had to get all my stories back, all my pictures…I've been rather busy. It was called spyware guard 2008/2009 and was **_**really really bad! **_**Seriously, hardly any spyware/vrisu protection can stop it. It's a nightmare so beware. **

**Okay…enough about my troubles…I have delivered. Tehe, c: I hope you liked the chapter. I'd say I'm sorry about the cliffy, but I'm not really…I find that they make stories better anyways. **

**Oh!!! And I need you guys to all please do my poll. It's about the next story I'm to write. I don't know which one to do – I only do one at a time cause I find otherwise I'll get sidetracked and do my favorite one more and some will get neglected and…I need to stop rambling so much. So yeah! Go do my poll…it's on my profile! Thanks!**

**Thankies for reading, I hope you enjoyed! **

**Xx..xX**


	15. Answer

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the**

**property of their Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

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'_No…'_ Sasuke stared at Naruto blankly, uncomprehending. _'No? Why the hell not?'_ Sasuke hadn't even done anything wrong as far as he was concerned. Naruto had known that he was having trouble with the issue of reviving his clan since they had first gotten together, he'd always respected that, and now – when he finally chose the blond over his own families wishes – the dobe rejected him? And the worst part was…he didn't even feel angry. He was trying really hard to dig up an overwhelming rage to allow him to shout. But there was nothing…just a dull, thudding pain, matching his rhythmic heartbeats.

Naruto stared at the love of his life, watching the cold, blankness of his expression, and he wondered why he'd said no. but truthfully, he knew the answer completely. For once, though, the fox didn't agree. Kyuubi was wholeheartedly for this marriage. He didn't see the problem that Naruto did. Naruto might have felt proud that he was being smarter than his bijuu, but he didn't have much chance to feel it before Kyuubi's roar nearly split his skull in two.

Then he was gripping the sheets that much tighter, fighting the tears that much more, and _feeling_ everything that had been kept from him for what seemed like so long. He muffled a gasp, biting his lip to keep from screaming. He was lucky though, because he knew now that Sasuke had not cheated on him, he knew that Sasuke really did love him. But…he also felt the pain of that 'no', he felt the heartache and longing, the urge to take Sasuke into his arms and never let go. He saw what the fox had done. He knew that he would never have been able to say 'no' with this much emotion swimming around inside him, waiting to burst.

Lucky he'd already said it then.

"Why?" Sasuke's voice wasn't cold, and sharp like Naruto had been expecting, like Sasuke had wanted it to sound. It was weak and the barely contained trembling made the situation so much worse for them both. Sasuke couldn't take his eyes away from the bed sheets. Naruto couldn't keep his eyes from Sasuke's emotionless face, his mask, one much worse than he'd ever seen it; even those black ebony pools were clouded with a blankness he was terrified of.

When Naruto didn't answer, Sasuke thought he'd lose it. "Why, Naruto?" and this time it was more firm, more angry. But not enough. Not the way he wanted it to sound. It was too weak. He was too weak. What was he doing? Practically groveling at the blonde's feet. Well…he wasn't…yet. But Sasuke could feel the urge, the swelling inside him waiting to be freed; to burst from him and cry and beg and plead for Naruto to take him back. He had to keep his cool. Focus.

Naruto schooled his features into a tightness; determination that Sasuke had only seen once before; 'don't run away from me' he could almost hear Naruto's voice, unbroken and childish over the sound of a waterfall. He wanted to cry - Pathetic.

"You don't want me Sasuke-" Immediately The raven's head snapped up, this time the anger shone through.

"Yes. I Do."

But Naruto shook his head. "You don't." It looked as though the Uchiha was going to speak over him again so he snarled his frustration – feeling some of the built up emotion pouring through him in the form of anger. "You don't!" He said again, more firmly.

"You want a family, Sasuke. More than you want me you want that. So we'd get married, we'd be happy for a while. I'd believe that you'd love me more than anything. But you'd leave, because I'm not enough for you am I? You have to stubbornly reach for something that will never come back, all the fucking time!

"Why do you push this fucked up family thing? What did you're family ever do for you anyway? They pushed you so hard to be like Itachi," Sasuke flinched at his brother's name, but Naruto continued regardless. "That you lost what little childhood you could have had. They pushed your brother so god damned much that he went insane! And now, even from the grave, they are controlling you like a puppet! We can never be happy! Never be together as long as you hold onto something that's gone! Dead! Let them go Sasuke!" Tears poured down scarred cheeks as Naruto screamed the words at the boy in front of him.

For a moment Sasuke looked so innocently afraid, so alone and terrified and suddenly Naruto wanted to take everything back. He was immediately worried for the boys health; he looked so young, so scared and broken. What if he'd done serious damage by saying all that? Sasuke had a psychiatrist so that must mean he wasn't completely mentally stable as it is. But then he saw it; Sasuke's eyes turned to steel and he went from looking like a small child to a raging dragon –a fire breathing one who was out to murder millions.

His lips pulled back and he stared at Naruto like he was dirt; as if he was nothing; worse than nothing. The Jinchuuriki could feel himself choke on the air he breathed as Sasuke looked on at him with such loathing. Sasuke was out the bedroom door in an instant, leaving the blond feeling so abandoned and isolated that he thought he'd die. Right then and there. He couldn't hear the fox inside him, couldn't think of the world around him, couldn't see or hear anything, not even the beat of his dying heart.

He knew he was crying; he knew he was hysterical, he could almost feel the shivering of his body and the rawness of his throat as his screams tore through him. Every muscle in his body seemed to clench against the onslaught of unbearable pain. What had he done?

He might have been numb, blind and deaf, but someway, somehow, he managed to feel as he was shoved harshly onto his back, instinctively he struggled, his senses coming back to him at the threat, he bucked against the pressure atop him and felt himself role against the pressure of what could only be another body. He wrestled with it the best he could through his hysterics, battling for his freedom, he felt so trapped.

He was knocked completely into consciousness as his entire body hit something extremely hard. The floor he realized. The mass on top of him was Sasuke - still bearing that furious face, the one of loathing and hatred and disgust. Seeing the one he loved looking at him that way only made him start screaming again, agonized choruses of raw, bleeding sobs racked his body, making them both shake.

"Damn it!" Above him, Sasuke roared, his expression twisting into a depth of revulsion Naruto had never seen him wear. Naruto screamed louder.

"Stop it!" A punch, aimed beside Naruto's head, cut all sound off. His pale arm swing down again. Again. Again. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" he wailed angrily. Naruto stared up at him, he wasn't afraid of the Uchiha; but he was weary of what he'd do to himself – the floor wasn't exactly weak and Sasuke's arm and fist bled profusely as he continued to smash it against the ground.

Desperate for a way to stop the actions, Naruto reached out for the raven, but his hand was caught and twisted above his head as Sasuke yelled hatefully at him. It was now that he saw. Now that he realized. The animosity, the detestation was not aimed at him. Sasuke was angry at himself, the arm by his head was not being held harmfully; there was no pain; only a strange gentleness that seemed so out of place coming from someone holding such a negative attitude.

"Idiot! You idiot! Why the hell do you think I'm here! I made my choice the moment I walked in here! No! I made it before that! No! I've always known! All I've done for as long as we've been together is make excuses to avoid leaving you! To avoid doing what I thought I had to do! Well I was wrong! I didn't need to do anything! As you pointed out, I don't have a family to abide by their rules! I don't have anyone to tell me what to do! And do you know what Naruto…sometimes I'm actually glad!" He laughed in a way that didn't sound completely sane. Naruto flinched away from him slightly as he laid his head down on the broken floor by his own face.

"If they weren't dead." His voice had calmed now, it was mellow, almost tired. "If they hadn't pushed Itachi so hard that…! I wouldn't have become your friend. I might not have been placed on your team. I wouldn't have felt the way I do for you. I would have been forced to marry some girl – a distant relative – and I would have lived my life with nothing but rules to guide me."

He lifted his head to look into Naruto's eyes; the words he'd planned to say spilling from his lips the way they should have in the beginning. "I came here today to tell you that I love you. To show you that you are enough. I don't really know how I let things go so far…how I…messed with your head so much that you turned so…! So insecure. I realized that maybe everyone is right. No, they surely are right. Perhaps my family really would just want me to be happy now. There is nothing I can do for them now, really, I can't revive them, and I can't rebuild the clan. You know what? I don't even like children." Naruto's eyes widened slightly, his mouth going dry.

"You…don't?" He asked meekly.

"No. All I need is you Naruto. I don't want anything else in the way! And nothing's going to get in the way." With that he lowered his face towards Naruto's, their lips meeting in the middle; both thrust their emotions into the kiss. Pouring their frustrations, desires and fears into their passionate lip-lock. Hoping that the other could feel the love and devotion and injury of such a battle of hearts. Hoping that now they could be happy. Hoping...

Minutes later found Sasuke in Naruto's arms, the two of them staring up at the ceiling as they calmed themselves down. Everything was quiet now, only their breathes and their heart beats could be heard in the silence. It seemed almost too peaceful, too calm. Sasuke feared rejection was on its way, he shuddered with fright, trying in vain to pummel all his weaknesses.

Naruto though, was elated, he thought he'd never be happier…well, perhaps that was an understatement, but now that they'd blown off some steam everything seemed so clear to him. Of course he'd marry Sasuke. He loved him. Of course the bastard wouldn't leave him. He needed him too much. So he took a deep breath, sighed, and hugged the boy lying on his chest tighter to him as he answered from his heart.

"Yes."

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**Wow, this was a really fast update from me hehe. It's short, but I hope that's not so bad. I just really couldn't stop myself from writing it immediately. And I had to stop there. It was just too perfect a place to stop.**

**Thanks to everyone who has done my poll. It's going to stay open until I finish this story, so to the readers who haven't voted yet, please do. It'll really help me out, plus it's you guys who might be the ones reading it, you never know. **

**Thankies for reading, I hope you enjoyed! **

**Xx..xX**


	16. Happiness

**Disclaimer: All original Naruto characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.**

**Okay…so, I know it's sudden and I've given virtually no warning, but this is the last chapter. However, I'm not doing a sequel; instead I will be writing a series of epilogues for this story. I don't know when I will write them, but I will. **

**As soon as I get the final votes in on my poll I'll also be starting my new story; please don't get mad if it isn't the one you voted for – I'm more than likely going to do most of them in the future anyways. **

**So…enjoy!**

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"So! What'll it be tonight then, Naruto?" the jolly Ichiraku owner chuckled with glee as Naruto sat himself on one of the bar stools. The blond was his best customer, yet he'd been seeing less and less of him lately, it genuinely worried him that the boy he'd known since his early days was acting so peculiar, especially when his birthday was tomorrow. He knew how harsh some of the villagers could be, but he was sure things were different now that Naruto had proven – to an extent – his loyalties to the village.

"Just a bowl of miso, please!" Naruto chirped back, it was nice to come to Ichiraku's stall, the manager and his daughter were very nice to him - they always had been. He watched as the man went about preparing his ramen. In all honesty he didn't really feel like eating ramen at the moment, but he wasn't very aware of the other restaurants and was supposed to be meeting Sakura any moment; Ichiraku's had seemed like the best option.

Naruto smiled to himself when he realized that he'd been unconsciously playing with the ring on his finger. Yes, Sasuke had given him a ring. It wasn't anything fancy, his fiancé had told him that he'd planned their wedding rings to be amazing though, and that Naruto would have to go in and make some decisions on them too, just to make sure they were perfect. But the engagement ring was just a thin strip of silver with small, chipped diamonds scattered on it. He liked it, mainly because it wasn't too fancy or girly, just subtle and nice.

He sighed to himself, picking at his ramen as it was given to him. He really didn't feel like eating ramen. The fox had stayed quiet since the whole 'question' thing, and Naruto wasn't very sure what to make of that. At least he wasn't shouting at him. He missed the female Kyuubi – she was much less aggressive and so much nicer; well, to him anyway, she was still a complete bitch of course, just…slightly more…maternal.

"Naruto?" Sakura's sweet voice – drenched in nervousness - drifted through the small ramen bar.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" was the ever happy response from Naruto. Needless to say…he was a little shocked when Sakura rushed to envelope him in a hug so tight he thought she'd break his back.

"S-Sakura!" He managed to stutter out as he tried to peal her away from him, to no avail, obviously, hardly anyone could match her strength nowadays. Only Tsunade.

"Oh, Naruto! I'm so sorry! It doesn't matter anyway…you're so much better than him…way too good for him even!" Naruto stopped struggling, figuring it was easier to breath when he stayed still; it seemed Sakura was done with squeezing the life out of him for the moment anyway as she stepped backwards and sat on the nearest barstool.

All was quiet for a few moments; the nightlife from outside the stall being the only distraction for Naruto's mind…what on earth was Sakura even talking about?

"Eh…Sakura, I don't think I follow you." At that remark his pink haired friend shot him a look that clearly said she thought he'd lost what little brain he had to begin with.

"Sasuke of course!" She spoke harshly, annoyed by his obvious confusion, before she realized how mean she'd been and how upset he must be. "Sorry…it's just…news travels fast and…I heard about the break up…" She trailed off, not wanting to hurt her friend more.

Naruto, however, was starting to catch on to her train of thought. _'Heh, word doesn't travel _that_ fast though' _Then again…their break up hadn't really lasted all that long in the first place – strange, it had felt like an eternity to Naruto. He opened his mouth to correct her when she seemed to decide to distract him, cutting his words off before they'd even begun.

"Me and Lee are so stressed right now. We never imagined it would be so difficult to continue on as a Ninja once there's a baby involved, but – wow!- it's no wonder most Kunoichi quit their careers after becoming a mother. It's just so difficult! I am actually getting no sleep at all anymore! Cause every night Kaname is like…"

Shit this girl could talk! Naruto couldn't really remember the last time she'd ranted to him like this before. Well, correction…he could, but he didn't remember _when_ it was.

Naruto put his hand on the counter.

"…and Lee has been great and all, but he's just so into his training with Gai and everything. And cutting my hours has made it better, don't get me wrong, now at least I get to sleep some of the day, well…as long as Lee can watch her, some time's Ino helps out with her too…"

Okay, maybe the subtle moves weren't the best way to go with this. He'd try something more noticeable.

For a long moment, Naruto scratched his cheek.

"…And damn! You should see the way Ino's been acting lately…she's so out of it, sometimes she just stares of into space; like she's seeing something that isn't there. And then, just the other day, when we were shopping for my wedding dress…"

Okay…so since Sakura had obviously turned blind recently, the blond decided to become drastic in his mission.

Naruto ran his hand through Sakura's pink locks, trapping a few strands and pulling them round in front of her face. "Your hair looks strange today Sakura…have you done something different to it?" He asked, his voice full of mischief.

Sakura stared at the hand in front of her face as tanned fingers played with the hair, a look on her face that told Naruto she was confused.

"Well…I haven't actually…had much time…to…to do…anything…What the hell is that?!" Sakura cut herself of by grabbing the still-moving hand from in front of her face, ripping it out from around her hair, twisting her body round so that she could get a better look in the light from the shop, dragging Naruto's body with her.

"Hey, hey, Sakura! Watch it! You're gonna pull my arm off!" He yelled half in amusement and half in discomfort as Sakura dragged him further and further off his stood and his arm further toward the light above the bar.

"What is that?" he tone was more sober this time, slightly delicate and shaky as she considered the possibilities…there weren't many. Naruto could only giggle at her and turn his head away in an attempt to resist the building hysterics. His friend, though, didn't seem to find anything funny as she turned harsh, almost sad eyes on him.

"S-sakura-chan…it's a…a ring!" ad that was all he managed to say before erupting into a fit of giggles, pulling his arm and Sakura with it as he twisted on his stool. Sakura didn't like that at all.

Her tone certainly held no traces of humor when she spoke again - the words were sugar coated in ice. "I can see it's a ring, Naruto. I want you to tell me why you are wearing an engagement ring when you and Sasuke broke up?" The blond managed to conceal his laughter after only a few more snorts and hisses.

"Well…" Clearly Naruto didn't know how to be sly, that much was obvious as he blushed over quivering lips; he didn't know how to hold back a grin either.

"Oh, my god…you're…?" Sakura let his arm go and it fell to the counter with an undignified 'plunk'.

"Yes! We're getting married!"

"Oh…my god."

"Isn't it a good thing?" Naruto frowned, the look on the other girl's face wasn't doing much for his confidence; why didn't she look pleased, the expression almost seemed like…pity.

She shook her head slowly…"Naruto, I…don't know how to say this, but…it just feels as though this might not turn out so good, I know you love him and all; I understand, and I know he loves you, I'm not saying he doesn't, but…" She trailed off, her eyes distant as she contemplated how to put her thoughts to words.

"Just spit it out Sakura." To say the jinchuuriki was agitated would be an understatement – what was wrong with Sakura? She should have been happy about this, not looking all somber and worried.

"Isn't it a little…well, I don't know…unfair…for you. When he is only with you for the child really, because otherwise he'd be out with…someone else…" her hand clenched into a fist, her words weren't only hard on Naruto.

Her words were hard for different reasons however; she was thinking the same thing Naruto had been this morning, but Naruto was thinking of how on earth he was supposed to tell Sasuke about the…baby…although, there had been a few different concerns raging in the back of his mind concerning the…supposed baby, as well.

'…_once they began growing…', '…ain't good for them…'_

That word…it had been bugging him, but in all honesty he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know…_'they'_… it seemed a little suspicious of Kyuubi to accidentally confuse his pronouns, truly odd. He refused to question the fox though, who knew the answer he'd get, and he only prayed he wasn't going to have a litter.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice – full of unconcealed concern – brought him back from his thoughts and he turned his head to stare wide eyed into emerald pools.

"It's all okay Sakura-chan." When all he received was a confused expression he realized he'd need to divulge his answer. Sighing, he began. "I uh…haven't told him about the…baby, yet. He decided to stay with me anyways…said he chose me over the family heh."

Sakura didn't reply, just stared ahead for a few minutes and left Naruto alone in his mind to ponder things he'd never wanted to think of before. Like, what were he and Sasuke going to do after…once he wasn't pregnant any more. How were they going to bring up children when neither of them had experienced a proper family life themselves – how could they bring up children when they'd barely been allowed a childhood of their own?

And what would the reactions be to this. Naruto had no doubt in his mind that it would not go down well with the citizens of Konoha, what lengths would he and Sasuke need to go to in order to ensure their child's safety. He already knew that Tsunade would be sure to have him as Hokage before the situation was presented to the people, but he didn't need another reason for Konoha to despise him. How could they love his child when it would be a result of Kyuubi's creativity?

His hand was grasped for a second time – the difference being the tenderness this second grasp held. "I think you should tell him." Naruto found himself interrupted by his pink haired friend once again. He knew she was right and he knew he'd need to tell Sasuke soon – before it became more obvious.

"How?"

Sakura didn't reply, just picked herself up from her seat and placed a bundle of cash on the counter before walking slowly out of the shop, a sympathetic smile and reassuring wink all that she would give to him.

And once again Naruto found himself in his thoughts as he made his way home and to bed, where his fiancé would be waiting.

Sasuke had said he didn't like kids…it didn't take a genius to notice that someone like Sasuke would naturally dislike children. They were just too sweet and cuddly and…sicky and smelly. But Naruto adored kids and he had been pleased when Kyuubi had told him of the life growing inside of him; he'd just been so confused and so mystified by it all, not to mention shocked beyond belief, that he'd failed to see the good in such a thing.

Sighing to himself he continued on his way, not even realizing as he entered the Uchiha house. So what if Sasuke didn't want the children; he couldn't force Naruto to give them away or – god forbid – destroy them! Not that Naruto expected him too…but there was sure to be some sort of argument about it.

How was he supposed to break the news to his lover anyway? 'Oh hey Darling, by the way, Kyuubi let you knock me up! Yeah I'm a pregnant dude!' Hmm…that was _so_ not happening. And if Sasuke asked questions, what then? Surely he wouldn't settle for the answers the blond had needed to be given; he'd want more details and information and Naruto just didn't want to discuss the weird things that were happening inside him.

The blond was so caught up in his intricate thoughts that he barely took notice of the gaping hole in the wall by the bedroom door…oh, that must have been where Sasuke punched it earlier. Turns out Naruto had been too blocked up by emotions and his own noise to hear when Sasuke's fist had gone through the wall…shame.

Naruto's face was the epitome of worry as he laid himself down in bed beside his fiancé. After he'd accepted Sasuke's offer the two had lain most of the day on the floor talking about so much he could hardly believe Sasuke capable, and so little he couldn't even remember half of it.

Sasuke shifted as he noticed his lover's body beside his. Pale arms came to wrap around Naruto's waist as the blond leaned away to switch off the bedside light.

"Hey…" is boyfriends tone was sleepy and Naruto had a feeling he'd been waiting for him to return. "How did it go with Sakura?" Naruto shrugged, it wasn't really important; he'd arranged to meet Sakura in order to tell her about the marriage and he had done just that. Sure he'd not received the response he'd wanted but that was beside the point.

"Fine." Was all Naruto could say because Sakura's words came back to him and he just _had_ to tell his fiancé about the 'condition'. Oh god. "Sasuke…?" He whispered, barely a breath.

"Hn." His lover's response was almost softer than his own.

"What would you say if I told you that…that you could fulfill your dream, and still stay with me." Sasuke pulled back from their embrace, looking at Naruto's moonlit features, barely viable in the soft light.

"I'm not going to put you on the sidelines, I've made my decision, Naruto…I want to be with you; you're enough and I want to be someone who deserves you." With that he resumed their previous position. Obviously jumping to the conclusion that the conversation was over…it hadn't even begun.

"No, but…what if…what if Kyuubi," Sasuke's hold tightened a fraction, but it was enough for Naruto to pause; could he really do this? What if Sasuke was completely disgusted by him? He shook his head minutely and closed his eyes tight. They'd get through this – hadn't Sasuke just said the blond was all that he wanted. What if he really didn't want anything else?

"What if Kyuubi could do something to me. I've talked to her and maybe she could…she could…"

Sasuke growled lowly by his ear. "I don't care what Kyuubi can do; she isn't going to use you to spawn some kind of experimental thing. It would be far too dangerous to you." Naruto gasped, did that mean he'd want to get rid of it, Naruto's arms twitched, wanting so badly to wrap instinctively around his navel.

"But, what if she could make me pregnant…you know…nothing weird." His voice caught at the end and he stopped; willing himself to be strong enough to hold back his panicked tears.

"And what would be the risk to you? There is no way something like that could possibly happen and even I it could; what would be the price, because I wouldn't trade you for anything. Now drop it – go to sleep, Naruto."

"B-but, Sasuke…she could...she could make things good….she could…" he trailed off, noticing how Sasuke's body had gone solid as a rock against him.

"Alright," The Uchiha's voice was forceful, almost uncomfortable. "I'm going to humor you. What would the risks be and what would we need to do in order to gain this…well this miracle." Naruto frowned at that despite the pleasing words; Sasuke seemed to be having a hard time grasping at the idea. He didn't have a wide imagination though, so the blond couldn't blame him.

He was glad, though, that he seemed to be worried for no reason since it wasn't actually harmf- _**'Kit…' **_his demons voice erupted suddenly inside of him.Well that didn't sound too good; he'd never heard Kyuubi speak with such a tone in the past. _**'I may have been a little vague with the whole explanation and stuff, but there are certain…risks. I just forgot to mention them.'**_

The jinchuuriki wasn't worried though; Kyuubi wouldn't have done anything without thinking it through. So he was slightly surprised by his next words.

'_**There's about a…twenty seven percent chance that you – we – won't make it.'**_ There was silence for a moment, thankfully Sasuke seemed to realize he was having an internal conversation; at least he wouldn't have to tell him that too.

'_I'm…likely to die?'_

'_**Not very! Just a little; it's to be expected, I mean, a male body isn't built for the excess weight, excess space needed to be used and men don't have the natural equipment to deal with pregnancy **__**– I've been using my power to cancel out the pain you'd be feeling from the womb pressing into everything else in there. There just isn't room.'**_

Naruto wasn't very sure how to reply, so he chose the most civil route. _'Why wasn't I told about this? I wasn't even asked if I wanted this done; which I wouldn't have! Why didn't you ask me?!'_

'_**Because I'd made up my mind – if the Uchiha had left you we would have ended up the equivalent of death anyway.'**_

'_That isn't true! I could live without Sasuke!'_

'_**Yeah, but would you really have been living?'**_

'_But he isn't leaving me anyway, so doing this for that reason was pointless.' _

'_**I won't apologize, now your boyfriend's getting restless, you should probably let him know the d**__**etails.'**_ Beside him, his dark haired lover was shifting slightly; obviously feeling perturbed by the news Naruto had given him.

"S…Sasuke, there is a small chance – nothing big, just twenty seven percent or something – that it'll be fatal. But it isn't that big a deal! I mean…me and Kyuubi are strong…we can…mana…ge…" he trailed off slightly, realizing his mistake and noticing a little too late that it hadn't gone unnoticed by Sasuke.

He pulled back slightly, trying unsuccessfully to keep the worry off his face as he searched his lover's eyes for his thoughts. His attempts were in vain, however, since his fiancé had his eyes closed tight. The blond could only imagine what images were running though his head at the moment.

Himself bent over a tree as he was violently sick…the tears he couldn't stop from coming…the snappy comments he'd made so often for no apparent reason…the strange food that Sasuke hated him eating…the small bump on his belly…

Naruto bit his lip from crying out in shock as a cool hand moved round to cradle his stomach, Sasuke's eyes opened to look straight into his and neither had to say a word; they both knew what was being thought.

Laying for what seemed like hours in such a comfortable silence made it hard to break it. Naruto was the one who took the initiative and spoke the words he felt were needed.

"It'll be okay. Everything will be just fine – you know how tough I am." Yes, Sasuke knew; although he was ashamed of the reasons why he'd needed to see such a thing. "I won't leave you, Sasuke." He felt Sasuke smile against his neck in response as the Uchiha pulled them tighter together.

"I won't leave you either, I'll do whatever you want, Naruto, I swear. I'm yours.

The blond couldn't help but giggle at that; his fiancé suddenly sounded so fragile. "I'm yours too you know, and no matter what comes our way from now on, trust me; we'll be fine."

Sasuke smiled as he kissed the tender skin on Naruto's neck again, the action so gentle that Naruto couldn't help but snuggle deeper into his lover's warm hold.

"No. We'll be better than that – we'll be happy."

* * *

**I got a review for the last chapter from someone who signed as 'hunny', and well, to answer the question asked I will now explain my – ****unintentionally complicated – twist. I think I'll need to work on them in future…**

**So…back in chapter twelve…I did say there was a reason I used first person narrative in the parts with Mijime…and that was because I didn't want to have to say who the person was. I knew everyone would automatically assume it was Sasuke, and therefore would get a bigger shock when I revealed that it was in fact Ino! So the one who slept with Mijime was Ino. As for Sasuke and Mijime; she is his psychiatrist, because…he really does need one. That's all she is to him, and kind of a friend too. I hoped it would be clear to people, since it was the first time I used first person narrative, but I'll need to work on that twist thing next time, definitely...So I hope that cleared things up!**

**Ino Mijime will have an epilogue all of their own! So don't fret people…I won't leave their ending out. **

**Thanks to everyone who has done my poll. It's going to stay open until I finish this story, so to the readers who haven't voted yet, please do. It'll really help me out, plus it's you guys who might be the ones reading it, you never know. **

**Thank****s for reading this story people! I hope you enjoyed! **

**Xx..xX**


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